BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 130|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 130
Author: Cedillo (D), et al.
Amended: 5/2/11 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 7-3, 6/8/11
AYES: Lowenthal, Alquist, Hancock, Liu, Price, Simitian,
Vargas
NOES: Runner, Blakeslee, Huff
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 7/11/11
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Lieu, Price, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Runner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Emmerson, Pavley
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 51-22, 5/5/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Student financial aid: eligibility:
California Dream Act of 2011
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires, beginning January 1, 2012,
that AB 540 (Firebaugh), Chapter 814, Statutes of 2001,
students attending the California State University, the
California Community Colleges, or the University of
California be eligible to receive a scholarship derived
from non-state funds (received for the purpose of
scholarships) at the segment where the student is enrolled.
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ANALYSIS : Existing law provides for a variety of student
financial aid programs including the Cal Grant programs,
the California Community College Board of Governors 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 limited to California
residents.
Existing law, established by AB 540 (Firebaugh), Chapter
814, Statutes of 2001, exempts specified California
nonresidents from paying nonresident tuition at the
University of California (UC), California State University
(CSU) and the California Community Colleges (CCC) if they
meet all of the following:
1. Attended a California high school for three or more
years.
2. Graduated from a California high school or attained an
equivalent degree.
3. Registered or attended an accredited California higher
education institution not before fall of the 2001-02
academic year.
4. Filed an affidavit, if an alien without lawful
immigration status, stating that the student has filed
an application to legalize their immigration status or
will file such an application as soon as they are
eligible to so do.
In general, these students are not currently eligible for
federal, state and/or campus-based financial aid.
This bill:
1. Requires, beginning January 1, 2012, that any student
admitted under the provisions of AB 540 and attending
the CSU, CCC, or the UC, be eligible to receive a
scholarship derived from non-state funds (received for
the purpose of scholarships) at the segment where he/she
is enrolled.
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2. Declares that the provisions of the bill are in
compliance with specified federal immigration law.
3. Extends immunity granted to California's public
postsecondary institutions from any monetary damages,
tuition refunds/waivers, or other retroactive relief
that may result from the implementation of AB 540 to
include any provisions adopted as a result of this bill,
should a state court declare them unlawful.
4. Makes related findings and declarations.
Comments
Related court case . In 2005, Martinez v. Regents of the
University of California et al. was filed against the UC,
CSU, and the Board of Governors of the 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 void. The
decision was appealed and, in December 2008, the Supreme
Court of California agreed to review the case. In November
2010, the California Supreme Court reversed the judgment of
the Court of Appeal, finding that the provisions of AB 540
did not violate the federal immigration law and concluding
that the plaintiffs' remaining challenges to the provisions
of AB 540 lacked merit.
How many students ? Recent data from the UC, CSU and CCC
indicate that overall, AB 540 students make up less than
one percent of enrollment at all three systems. More
specifically:
1. At the UC, AB 540 students were less than three-tenths
of a percent of 220,000 students in 2007-08. More than
68 percent of the 1,941 students were United States
citizens or "documented" immigrants.
2. At the CSU, 3,633 AB 540 students were less than one
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percent of the 440,000 students enrolled in the current
school year.
3. In the CCCs, 34,057 students of the 2.89 million
students enrolled in the 2008-09 school year were
granted AB 540 waivers, again, less than one percent.
The CSU and the 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 the UC.
Similar Legislation
AB 131 (Cedillo), effective July 1, 2012, expands the
existing exemption from nonresident tuition established by
AB 540 to include students who attend and graduate from
California technical and adult schools and expands
eligibility for state-administered financial aid to all AB
540 students. (On Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense
File)
Prior Legislation
Since 2003, the Legislature has considered several bills
which have attempted to ensure that AB 540 students were
able to receive financial assistance to attend college.
The most recent efforts included SB 1460 (Cedillo, 2010)
and AB 1432 (Fuentes, 2010) which were substantively
similar to each other in that they proposed the expansion
of the existing exemption from nonresident tuition
established by AB 540 to include students who graduated
from technical schools and adult schools and proposed
expansion of eligibility for financial aid benefits to all
students exempt from paying nonresident tuition under AB
540. Both bills were ultimately vetoed by Governor
Schwarzenegger whose veto message read, in pertinent part:
"I have always wholeheartedly supported the policy of
making higher education opportunities as affordable as
possible for all California's students. Our state's
university and community college systems are amongst the
finest in the country and should be made accessible to
those seeking a better life through higher education.
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Unfortunately, given the precarious fiscal situation that
the state faces, it would not be practical to adopt a new
policy that could limit the financial aid available to
students that are in California legally, in order to
provide that benefit to those students who are not."
Other similar Dream Act measures include:
SB 160 (Cedillo), 2009-10 Session, would have expanded
eligibility for state postsecondary institutional financial
aid programs to include students who are exempted from
paying nonresident tuition due to specified provisions of
law. (Held under submission in Senate Appropriations
Committee)
AB 2083 (Nunez), 2008-08 Session, would have requested the
UC and would have required the CSU, and the Board of
Governors of the CCC to establish procedures and forms to
enable students who are exempt from paying nonresident
tuition, as specified, to be eligible to receive
institutional financial aid awards. (Died in Senate Rules
Committee)
SB 160 (Cedillo), 2007-08 Session, would have expanded
eligibility for state postsecondary financial aid and
community college fee waiver programs to include students
who are exempted from paying nonresident tuition due to
specified provisions in law. (Held under submission in
Senate Appropriations Committee)
SB 1 (Cedillo), 2007-08 Session, would have made California
high school graduates who meet the non-resident in-state
tuition requirements eligible for a fee waiver at community
colleges and able to participate in the Cal Grant program.
Passed the Senate with a vote of 24-15 on September 12,
2007. The bill was subsequently vetoed by the Governor,
whose veto message read:
"At a time when segments of California public higher
education, the University of California and the
California State University, are raising fees on all
students attending college in order to maintain the
quality of education provided, it would not be prudent
to place additional strain on the General Fund to
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accord the new benefit of providing state subsidized
financial aid to students without lawful immigration
status. Under existing law, undocumented students, who
meet the required criteria, already qualify for the
lower in-state tuition rate while attending California
public colleges and universities."
SB 1301 (Cedillo), 2007-08 Session, would have required the
CSU and the CCC and would have requested the UC to provide
institutional financial aid to students who are exempt from
nonresident tuition, as specified. Passed the Senate with
a vote of 23-12 on May 12, 2008. The bill was subsequently
vetoed by the Governor, whose 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."
SB 160 (Cedillo), 2005-06 Session, would have required the
CSU and the CCC, and would have requested the UC, to enable
non-resident students, who are exempt from paying
non-resident tuition based on their three-year attendance
at and graduation from a California high school, to
participate in all student aid programs administered by
these institutions to the extent permitted by federal law,
and would have required CCC districts to waive the fees of
these students pursuant to regulations adopted by the CCC
Board of Governors. Passed the Senate with a vote of 24-15
on August 31, 2006. The bill was subsequently vetoed by
the Governor, whose veto message read, in pertinent part:
"Current law allows undocumented students who have
attended a California high school for three years and
graduate from a California high school to attend a
state college and get a reduced state tuition rate but
not be eligible for public financial aid dollars.
California has over 100,000 students here legally who
apply annually for financial aid to attend college, and
our state has limited funds available for this
important purpose.
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"While I do not believe that undocumented children
should be penalized for the acts of their parents, this
bill would penalize students here legally by reducing
the financial aid they rely on to allow them to go to
college and pursue their dreams."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Cost pressure: financial aid Potentially
significant cost pressure General/
Federal
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/12/11)
Advancement Project
AltaMed Health Services Corporation
American Civil Liberties Union
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO
American Federation of Teachers, Local 2121
Anti-Defamation League
Association of Independent California Colleges and
Universities
California Catholic Conference
California Commission on the Status of Women
California Communities United Institute
California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office
California Dream Network
California Federation of Teachers
California Grape & Tree Fruit League
California Immigrant Policy Center
California League of United Latin American Citizens
California Postsecondary Education Commission
California School Employees Association, AFL-CIO
California State PTA
California State University
California State Student Association
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California Student Aid Commission
California Teachers Association
Camino Nuevo Charter Academy
Chicano Federation of San Diego County
Chicano Latino Caucus of the California Democratic Party
Cities of Oakland, San Pablo, and Watsonville
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
Community Charter Middle School
Community College League of California
Equality California
Faculty Association of California Community Colleges
Fontana Unified School District
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
Gay-Straight Alliance Network
Hartnell College
Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities
Hispanas Organized for Political Equality
Korean Resource Center
La Raza Law Students Association at UC Davis
Latino Equality Alliance
Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom
Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce
Los Angeles Community College District
Los Angeles County Democratic Party
Los Angeles Leadership Academy
Los Angeles Unified School District
MAAC Community Charter School
Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium
National Council of La Raza
Nisei Farmers League
Para Los Ni�os
Peralta Community College District
Rio Hondo Community College District
San Jose-Evergreen Community College District
Santa Rosa Charter Academy
Service Employees International Union, California
Service Employees International Union, United Long Term
Care Workers
Services, Immigrant Rights & Education Network
Silicon Valley Leadership Group
State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson
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Student Senate for California Community Colleges
UAW Local 2865
University of California
University of California Student Association
Western Association for College Admissions Counselors
Yolo County Supervisor, Jim Provenza
OPPOSITION : (Verified 7/12/11)
Californians for Population Stabilization
Concerned Women for America of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author's office is concerned
that California high school graduates who have been
accepted to our premier public colleges and universities
may be ineligible for state financial aid. According to the
author's office, these students confront a difficult
challenge in financing their college education because they
are ineligible for any federal grants or loans and are
unable to legally work. The California Dream Act
established by this bill would allow these students to
apply for and receive scholarships derived from non-state
funds at no cost to the state.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 51-22, 5/5/11
AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block,
Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan,
Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo,
Chesbro, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes,
Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez,
Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez,
Portantino, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NOES: Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Cook, Donnelly,
Fletcher, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Harkey, Jeffries,
Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller, Morrell, Norby, Olsen,
Silva, Smyth, Valadao, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Furutani, Garrick, Gorell, Jones,
Nestande, Nielsen, Vacancy
CPM:mw 7/13/11 Senate Floor Analyses
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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