BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1460
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 22, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Marty Block, Chair
SB 1460 (Cedillo) - As Amended: June 2, 2010
SENATE VOTE : 24-9
SUBJECT : Student financial aid: eligibility: California Dream
Act of 2010.
SUMMARY : Establishes, beginning July 1, 2011, the California
Dream Act for the purposes of expanding eligibility for
state-administered financial aid to students exempted from
paying nonresident tuition through specified provisions of law
[created by AB 540 (Firebaugh), Chapter 814, Statutes of 2001]
and extends the AB 540 nonresident tuition exemption to
graduates of adult education and technical schools, provided the
individual spent at least one year in a California high school.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes AB 540 students eligible to apply for and participate in
any state-administered student financial aid program,
including institutional aid, to the full extent permitted by
federal law, beginning July 1, 2011.
2)Makes AB 540 students eligible to apply for and participate in
the California Community Colleges (CCC) Board of Governors
(BOG) fee waiver program, beginning July 1, 2011, and declares
this provision to be consistent with specified immigration
law.
3)Requests the University of California (UC) Board of Regents
and requires the California State University (CSU) Board of
Trustees and the CCC BOG, beginning July 1, 2011, to establish
procedures and forms to enable AB 540 students to apply for
and participate in all student aid programs administered by
these segments, to the full extent permitted by federal law.
4)Makes, beginning January 1, 2011, AB 540 students eligible to
receive a scholarship that is derived from nonstate funds
received for the purpose of scholarships.
5)Expands, beginning July 1, 2011, the AB 540 exemption to
include attendance and graduation from California technical
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and adult schools, provided the student attended a California
high school for at least one year.
6)Finds and declares that this bill is a state law within the
meaning of subsection (d) of Section 1621 of Title 8 of the
United States Code.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides for a variety of student financial aid programs
including the Cal Grant programs, the CCC BOG fee waiver, a
variety of systemwide and/or campus-specific grant and/or loan
programs, and other state-administered financial aid programs.
Participation in these programs is, among other criteria,
typically needs-based and limited to California residents.
2)Exempts specified California nonresidents from paying
nonresident tuition at UC, CSU, and CCC, also known as the AB
540 nonresident tuition waiver, if they meet all of the
following:
a) Attended a California high school for three or more
years;
b) Graduated from a California high school or attained an
equivalent degree;
c) Registered or attended an accredited California higher
education institution beginning of after fall of the
2001-02 academic year; and,
d) If an alien without lawful immigration status, have
filed an affidavit stating that the student has filed an
application to legalize his or her immigration status or
will file such an application as soon as he or she is
eligible to so do.
3)Designates secondary schools as high schools, technical
schools, and adult schools.
FISCAL EFFECT : The Senate Appropriations Committee estimates
costs of more than $40 million per year in additional financial
aid awards when fully implemented.
COMMENTS : Background : Students who qualify for the AB 540
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nonresident tuition waiver are typically aliens without lawful
immigration status or United States citizens or Permanent
Residents who are residents of another state.
Martinez v. Regents : In 2005, Martinez v. Regents of the
University of California et al. was filed against UC, CSU, and
CCC, challenging the legality of AB 540. In October 2006, a
California Superior Court ruled in favor of AB 540, stating its
provisions were in accordance with federal law. In September
2008, a California Court of Appeal overturned the Superior
Court's ruling in Martinez v. Regents and held that California
state law authorizing in-state tuition to "illegal aliens" is
preempted by federal immigration law and, thus, void. The
decision was appealed, and in December 2008, the California
Supreme Court agreed to review the case. It is unclear when the
Supreme Court will begin its review. The AB 540 exemption
remains in effect at UC, CSU, and CCC while the appeal is
pending review.
Need for this bill : Federal law prohibits undocumented students
from receiving any aid from the federal government, such as Pell
Grants and federal student loans, and prevents states from
offering public benefits to undocumented students unless the
state passes a statute expressly qualifying undocumented
students for such benefits. The California Student Aid
Commission estimates the nine-month cost of education (which
includes books, supplies, food, rent, transportation, and other
miscellaneous items) in 2010-11 for California students living
off-campus to be $16,497, in addition to systemwide and campus
fees.
What aid would be available to AB 540 students ? This bill
provides eligibility for state-administered financial aid
programs, including Cal Grant Entitlement awards, Cal Grant
Competitive awards, CCC Transfer Entitlement awards, Cal Grant C
awards, as well as Assumption Program of Loans for Education
awards, State Nursing Assumption Program of Loans for Education
awards, Child Development grants, and Law Enforcement Personnel
Dependents grants. In addition, AB 540 students would be
eligible for UC- and CSU-administered need-based financial aid
programs (which are funded by returning, on average, one-third
of student fees to the institutional aid programs), as well as
CCC fee waivers.
How many students would be affected ? According to the segments,
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AB 540 students make up less than 1% of enrollment at all three
systems, as follows: UC enrolled 1,941 students (3/10% of the
student body and 68% of the AB 540 students were U.S. citizens
or "documented" immigrants); CSU enrolled 3,633 AB 540 students
(less than 1% of the student body); and CCC enrolled 34,057 AB
540 students (less than 1% of the student body). CSU and CCC do
not identify the immigration status of AB 540 students but
believe that undocumented students make up a larger proportion
of these students than they do at UC.
Adding adult schools : Current law defines a secondary school as
a high school, adult school or technical school. Since AB 540
considers only high school attendance in order to qualify for
the nonresident tuition waiver, high school students who combine
high school attendance with attendance at an adult or technical
school may jeopardize their eligibility for the nonresident
tuition exemption if their attendance at the high school is for
less than three years. This bill addresses this situation by
allowing two of the three years of required attendance to be at
an adult or technical school, provided the student attends a
California high school for one year.
Private aid administration : This bill also includes a provision
to require UC, CSU, and CCC to administer private financial aid
awards. According to the author, this section is intended to
assist eligible students in obtaining some type of aid-while the
other provisions that would allow them significantly more
financial aid go into effect. In administering private
scholarships and aid, the segments comply with the provisions
determined by the entity/individual who establishes the
scholarship fund. Unless otherwise specified, AB 540 students
should be eligible for private scholarships administered by the
segments.
Arguments in support : The author states that undocumented
students cannot finance their college education because they are
ineligible for federal grants and loans and are unable to
legally work. Supporters argue that, in light of recent reports
highlighting the need for 1 million more workers with college
degrees to sustain our economy, the state cannot afford to
exclude people or prevent students from attending college.
Arguments in opposition : Opponents argue that the state has
limited funds available to provide financial aid, this bill
would encourage illegal immigration, and increasing financial
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aid benefits will place greater burdens on California taxpayers
when we are facing a $20 billion structural budget deficit.
UC amendment request : UC has requested an amendment to
indemnify UC, CSU, and CCC against legal damages resulting from
a successful legal challenge should this bill be enacted.
Following enactment of AB 540, AB 1543 (Firebaugh), Chapter 19,
Statutes of 2002, was enacted to indemnify UC, CSU, and CCC from
legal damages that could result from a successful challenge to
AB 540.
Previous legislation : Since 2003, the Legislature has
considered several bills that were substantively similar to this
measure, including SB 160 (Cedillo) of 2005 and SB 1 (Cedillo)
of 2007, both of which were almost identical to this measure and
were ultimately vetoed by the Governor. The most recent similar
bill to go before the Governor was SB 1301 (Cedillo) of 2008;
the Governor's veto message read:
I share the author's goal of making affordable education
available to all California students, but given the
precarious fiscal condition the state faces at this time,
it would not be prudent to place additional demands on our
limited financial aid resources as specified in this bill.
For this reason, I am unable to sign this bill.
In addition, SB 160 (Cedillo) of 2009, AB 2083 (Nunez) of 2008,
and SB 160 (Cedillo) of 2007 contained similar provisions to
this bill, and all were ultimately held under submission in the
Senate Appropriations Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Civil Liberties Union
California Catholic Conference
California Communities United Institute
California Federation of Teachers
California Postsecondary Education Commission
California State University
California Teachers Association
Community College League of California
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
Los Angeles Community College District
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Los Angeles Unified School District
Rio Hondo Community College District
San Jose-Evergreen Community College District
University of California Student Association
Opposition
Concerned Women for America
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960