BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gloria Romero, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 815
AUTHOR: Cogdill
AMENDED: March 31, 2009
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 29, 2009
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Nancy Anton
SUBJECT : California National Guard Education Assistance
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the California National Guard
Education Assistance Award Program.
BACKGROUND
The California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) administers a
variety of student financial aid grant and loan programs
including several different Cal Grant programs. The Cal
Grant programs provide awards to students who meet both
specific income and academic eligibility criteria. These
programs include:
1) Cal Grant A & B "entitlement program" for graduating
high school seniors. About 173,000 new and continuing
awards are projected for 2008-09.
2) Cal Grant A & B "competitive program" for students who
begin college more than a year after graduating from
high school. Statute limits the number of new awards
in any one year to not more than 22,500; because of
this only about 18 percent of qualified applicants
receive awards. About 57,000 new and renewal grants
were awarded in the current year; the Governor's
2008-09 proposed budget includes no funding for this
program.
3) California Community Colleges (CCC) Transfer
Entitlement Program (CCCTEP) for students transferring
from a CCC to a four-year institution. About 8,000
new and continuing transfer entitlement awards are
projected for 2008-09.
SB 815
Page 2
4) Cal Grant C for students attending occupational or
vocational programs of less than two-years duration.
About 7,900 new awards are authorized for 2008-09.
Members of the California National Guard, as well as most
other Californians, may participate in these programs
should they meet the eligibility requirements.
In addition, there are a variety of other federal,
campus-based, and private financial aid opportunities with
varying eligibility requirements.
ANALYSIS
This bill creates the California National Guard Education
Assistance Award Program to provide awards to qualifying
members of the California National Guard, the State
Military Reserve or the Naval Militia. Specifically, the
bill:
1) Requires that a "qualifying member" meet all of the
following:
a) Be a California resident.
b) Be an active member of the California
National Guard, the State Military Reserve or the
Naval Militia and have served for at least two
years.
c) Be an accepted or registered student at a
qualifying postsecondary education institution.
d) Agree to;
i) Use the award to obtain a
certificate, degree or diploma that he or
she does not hold at the time the person
applies for the award.
ii) Enroll in at least three academic
units per semester (or its equivalent).
2) Requires applicants to submit applications to the
Adjutant General for review; the Adjutant General
SB 815
Page 3
would be required to certify eligibility of the
qualifying member to the Student Aid Commission.
3) Requires the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC)
to issue the awards and to provide specified
information to the Adjutant General.
4) Sets the amount of the award at $500 for books and
supplies plus:
a) The maximum award for a Cal Grant A award
based on the type of institution attended.
b) The actual tuition and fees charged by the
institution in which the member is enrolled.
In addition, the bill specifies that an award used for
graduate studies shall not exceed the maximum
amount of a Cal Grant A award plus $500 for books
and supplies.
5) Provides that the awards may be renewed for each new
academic year for a maximum of five years full-time
equivalent enrollment providing that the qualifying
member maintains their military eligibility and a 2.0
cumulative grade point average.
6) Prohibits qualifying members from receiving both a
California National Guard Education award and a Cal
Grant for the same academic year.
7) Requires the Military Department:
a) In consultation with the California Student
Aid Commission (CSAC) to adopt emergency rules
and regulations to administer the program.
b) To report annually to the Legislature
regarding program participation, as specified.
8) Provides that costs incurred by CSAC to issue and
process awards and be reimbursed through an
interagency agreement from appropriations in the
annual Budget Act to the Military Department. The
bill also authorizes CSAC to enter into contracts to
improve the processing and distribution of awards
SB 815
Page 4
through the use of electronic networks and unified
databases.
9) Requires the Legislative Analyst to report to the
Legislature by January 1, 2015 on the efficacy of the
program established by this bill.
10) Specifies that this bill become operative only upon
appropriation of $3,651,000 to the Military
Department.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Non-need based. Staff notes that the awards provided
under this program would not require that the
applicant be financially needy.
2) Federal GI bill benefits. The federal government
recently enacted a new GI Education Bill; the benefits
of which could be available to some members of the
California National Guard, State Military Reserve
and/or Naval Militia. Given this, staff recommends
that the bill be amended to provide that benefits
provided under the program established by this bill be
provided only to members who have either fully used
their federal GI education benefits or who do not
qualify for such benefits.
3) Federal Education benefits . Qualifying members under
this bill may also be eligible for federal student
financial aid benefits (e.g. Pell grants, subsidized
student loans). In order to maximize receipt of
federal funds, staff recommends that the bill be
amended to require qualifying members to submit an
application for federal student financial aid (e.g. a
FAFSA application).
4) Administering Agency . The program established by this
bill would be administered by the Military Department.
The program, however, is essentially a financial aid
program and therefore it appears to make more sense to
have the California Student Aid Commission administer
it. Financial aid for foster youth is not
administered by the Department of Social Services.
Similarly, financial aid for teachers is not
administered by the Commission on Teacher
SB 815
Page 5
Credentialing. Accordingly, staff recommends that the
bill be so amended.
Selection Criteria. Staff notes that the Military
Department would still be responsible for selecting
the program participants. Accordingly, staff
recommends that the bill be amended to specify the
selection criteria to be used by the Military
Department.
5) No Sunset Date . Although prior versions of this bill
included a sunset date, this bill does not. Staff
recommends that the bill be amended to sunset in nine
years (June 30, 2019) and that the due date for the
Legislative Analyst's report be moved to January 1,
2016.
6) Award value .
a) Page 5, lines 1 - 5 of the bill appear to
indicate that an undergraduate would be eligible
for an award reflecting the value of a Cal Grant
A award plus the actual tuition and fees charged
by the institution. It is staff's understanding
that this is not the author's intent.
Accordingly, staff recommends that the bill be
amended (i) so that the award value reflects the
author's intent and (ii) to clarify the
difference in award value for undergraduate and
graduate students, if any.
b) The bill provides for the award value to,
essentially, mirror the value of a Cal Grant A.
However, for students attending a community
college, it is the author's intent that the award
should mirror the value of a Cal Grant B.
Accordingly, staff recommends that the bill be so
amended.
c) The duration of the award under this program
(5 years full-time equivalent attendance) would
also exceed the duration of the award under the
Cal Grant program (4 years full-time equivalent
attendance.) Does this make sense?
d) The award in part includes $500 for books
SB 815
Page 6
and supplies (staff notes that Cal Grant
recipients do not receive such a stipend.) Staff
recommends that the $500 book stipend be deleted.
SB 815
Page 7
7) Number of awards . Page 4, lines 26-28, references but
does not specify the number of awards that may be
provided under this program. Staff recommends that
the bill be amended to specify the maximum number of
awards that may be provided.
8) Operative Appropriation . Staff recommends that the
bill be amended (EC Section 69999.28; page 6 line 14)
to delete the reference to a specified appropriation
and, instead, to have the program become operative
based simply on an appropriation for such purpose.
9) Proposed budget . The Governor's proposed budget
includes $1.8 million in General Fund support for this
program ($3.6 million full year.)
10) Similar Bill . This bill is substantially similar to
SB 647 (Denham) which was heard and passed by the
Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on April 13, 2009
and is also set to be heard by the Senate Education
Committee today.
11) Previous Bill . This bill is substantially similar to
SB 1752 (Wyland) of last session which was heard and
passed by this Committee (9-0) on April 17, 2008.
That measure was held in the Senate Appropriations
Committee.
SUPPORT
American Legion, Department of California
California State Military Department
Governor's Office, Office of the Secretary of Education
Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council
OPPOSITION
None received.