BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1460
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1460 (Cedillo)
As Amended August 20, 2010
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE : 24-9
HIGHER EDUCATION 6-2 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Block, Chesbro, Fong, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Bradford, |
| |Galgiani, | |Huffman, Coto, Davis, De |
| |Portantino, Ruskin | |Leon, Gatto, Hall, |
| | | |Skinner, Solorio, |
| | | |Torlakson, Torrico |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Adams, Fuller |Nays:|Conway, Harkey, Miller, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Beginning July 1, 2011, requires the California State
University (CSU) and the California Community Colleges (CCC) and
requests the University of California (UC) to provide
institutional financial aid to students who are exempt from
nonresident tuition due to specified provisions in law, as
established by AB 540 (Firebaugh), Chapter 814, Statutes of 2001,
financial aid to students exempted from paying nonresident tuition
through specified provisions 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)Requests the UC Board of Regents and requires the CSU Board of
Trustees and the CCC Board of Governors (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, and prohibits the number of financial
aid awards received by California resident students from
financial aid programs administered by the segments from being
diminished as a result of the application of this requirement.
2)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.
SB 1460
Page 2
3)Expands, beginning July 1, 2011, the AB 540 exemption to include
attendance and graduation from California technical and adult
schools, provided the student attended a California high school
for at least one year.
4)Provides specified legal protections to UC, CSU, and CCC if a
state court finds this bill or any similar regulation unlawful.
5)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 : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
SB 1460
Page 3
1)UC and CSU: This bill will not result in increased spending at
UC and CSU, but may change the amounts received by other
recipients.
a) UC estimates, based on current numbers of AB 540 students,
their demographic profile, and average aid awards, that about
605 students would be eligible for $1.8 million in UC
institutional aid; and,
b) CSU indicates enrollment of about 3,600 AB 540 students.
Assuming these students receive institutional aid in
proportion to all other CSU students (about 25%), about 900
students would be eligible for about $2.4 million in aid,
assuming an average award of $2,661.
2)CCC fee waivers: The revenue loss from CCC BOG fee waivers is
offset by increased Proposition 98 funding and is thus a direct
state cost. According to the CCC Chancellor's Office, there
were 34,000 AB 540 students in the system in 2008-09. Assuming
these students averaged six credits per semester, total fee
revenue would be $10.6 million. If 45% of those students
received fee waivers (the statewide average), the revenue loss
(and Proposition 98 cost) would be $4.8 million.
COMMENTS : This bill is an effort to expand the availability of
financial aid to those UC, CSU, and CCC students eligible for
nonresident tuition status under AB 540. These students are
typically aliens without lawful immigration status or United
States citizens or Permanent Residents who are residents of
another state and would be ineligible for state-administered or
campus-based financial aid programs without the provisions of AB
540.
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.
Students who receive a waiver of non-resident tuition at UC, CSU,
and CCC still face significant costs, including resident fees,
books, supplies, food, rent, transportation, and other
miscellaneous items. The California Student Aid Commission
estimates the nine-month cost of education in 2010-11 for
California students living off-campus to be $16,497, in addition
SB 1460
Page 4
to system wide and campus fees.
According to the segments, 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.
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. 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.
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.
Since 2003, the Legislature has considered several bills that were
substantively similar to this measure. 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
SB 1460
Page 5
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."
Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
FN: 0006422