BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 2478
AUTHOR: Hayashi
AMENDED: May 25, 2012
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 27,
2012
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Daniel
Alvarez
SUBJECT : Student residency requirements: veterans.
SUMMARY
This bill provides that a California Community College
(CCC) student who was stationed in California for more
than one year immediately prior to being discharged, is
exempt from paying nonresident fees for up to two years
upon filing an affidavit with the community college
stating their intent to establish residency as soon as
possible.
BACKGROUND
Current law establishes uniform residency requirements
for purposes of ascertaining the amount of fees to be
paid by students at the University of California (UC),
the California State University (CSU), and CCC and
establishes various exceptions to these residency
requirements, including the following:
1) A member of the Armed Forces who is stationed in
the state on active duty, except a member assigned
for educational purposes. (Education Code � 68075)
2) A member of the Armed Forces who is transferred
to another state but continuously enrolled at a
college in California. (EC � 68075)
3) A student who is a dependent of a member of the
Armed Forces stationed in this state on active
duty. (EC � 68074)
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4) A student dependent of a member of the Armed
Forces may keep his or her resident classification
until he or she has resided in the state for the
minimum time necessary to become a resident in the
event the member of the Armed Forces upon whom they
are dependent is transferred outside of the state
or retires as an active member of the Armed Forces.
(EC � 68072)
ANALYSIS
This bill provides that a California Community College
(CCC) student who was stationed in California for more
than one year immediately prior to being discharged, is
exempt from paying nonresident fees for up to two years
upon filing an affidavit with the community college
stating their intent to establish residency as soon as
possible.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) According to the author , this bill will allow
veterans who were discharged from a military
installation in California additional time (up to
two years) to establish residency if they need to
briefly return to their home state prior to
attending community college. The Chancellor's
Office also indicates that some veterans do not
begin the residency process immediately after
discharge for various reasons, including
rehabilitation from injuries.
2) Benefits of California-resident classification for
tuition and fee purposes . UC, CSU, and CCC are
publicly subsidized with the proceeds of state
taxes; the lower resident fees for students who
reside in California reflect the contribution they
and their parents have already made by paying taxes
in California. The fees charged to non-California
residents are intended to cover the cost of the
subsidy that is generated by California taxpayers.
Currently, CCC will charge $46 per unit for
California residents and $244 per unit to those who
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have not established California residency.
The difference between resident and non-resident
fees at the CCC is $198 per unit. For a full-time
student (30 units per academic year) the additional
fee revenue (or rather cost in the form of
non-resident fees) to the CCC is $5,920. There are
about 44,000 veterans currently enrolled in the
community colleges. The Chancellor's Office does
not know how many of these students are paying
non-resident fees and could thus benefit from this
bill.
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
if only one percent of these students could benefit
from this bill and pay the resident fees, and only
half were full-time students with the remainder
half-time students, the annual revenue loss to the
CCC would be $1.3 million General Fund (Proposition
98). Community college districts would also incur
state reimbursable costs to administer this
benefit.
3) Reciprocity ? Sponsors of the measure could not
provide information on whether veterans who are
California residents enjoy the same tuition/fee
exemptions as contemplated by this measure in other
states. Does it make sense for California to
provide a benefit to residents of other states when
those states do not provide a similar benefit to
Californians? All states appear to require a
veteran be a state resident in order to qualify for
in-state tuition/fee, and state policies on spouses
and dependents also require the veteran be a state
resident.
4) Further complicating matters, perpetual Budget
shortfalls. The State Budgets of the past few
years has included hundreds of millions of General
Fund reductions to CCC, which translates into fewer
course offerings since CCC has no admission
requirements. Thus adequate funding for the varied
educational priorities is endangered and in some
instances supplemented by ensuring that non-state
residents pay for the actual cost of their
education within the California Community Colleges.
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5) In recognition of the difficulties of military
service and the sacrifices of service members,
existing California law assists the discharged
military student who wants to stay in California
and go to school. Current California law says the
military student, once discharged, can pay resident
tuition until the student has stayed long in
California enough to establish residency (normally
one year). Then the student becomes a resident or
chooses not to (it is not automatic). There may
only be one legal state of residence, so in order
to become a resident of California for tuition
purposes, residency must be relinquished in the
former state of residence for the student.
Existing law strikes a balance, allowing students
to pay resident fees while on active duty and for
approximately a year after, giving time to
establish residency. This existing one-year
exemption applies however, only to students who
were stationed in California for one year prior to
discharge. This bill will extend the exemption to
two years post discharge. Students however must
file an affidavit declaring their intention to
establish residency as soon as possible.
6) According to sponsors of the bill , the intent is to
allow up to the minimum time necessary to become a
resident and the benefit of in-state tuition (one
year) within a two-year time period from date of
discharge - this would provide veterans time to
return to their home state after being discharged
and settle personal affairs or for physical
rehabilitation.
Consistent with this intent, staff recommends
amendments that provide veterans with the one year
exemption from paying nonresident tuition,
contingent upon filing of an affidavit, as
specified, within one year of discharge, and
specifies the use of the one year fee exemption
must occur within two-years from the time of
discharge. Clarify for purposes of this section a
former member of the Armed Forces of the United
States who received a dishonorable discharge or a
bad conduct discharge is not eligible for the
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exemption.
7) Measure is keyed with a possible mandate .
Legislative Counsel has determined workload
associated with filing of an affidavit, as
specified, may impose state-mandated local program
costs upon the community colleges that may be state
reimbursable.
8) Related legislation
AB 2133 (Blumenfield) extends the period of time,
from 4 years to 15 years, that a former member of
the Armed Forces of the United States, as defined,
can receive priority registration enrollment at the
California State University (CSU) and the
California Community Colleges (CCC). This measure
will be heard in Senate Education Committee on June
27.
AB 2462 (Block) requires the Chancellor of the
California Community Colleges (CCC) to implement a
process for awarding credit for prior military
academic experience that meets the pertinent
standards of the American Council on Education
(ACE), as specified. This measure is scheduled to
be heard on June 27.
AB 2250 (Gaines) requires a student, or spouse of a
student, who is an active member of the Armed
Forces who has served at least 2 years, to be
exempt from paying nonresident fees and tuition at
California's public postsecondary institutions.
This measure was held by the Assembly
Appropriations committee.
SUPPORT
Orange County Community College Legislative Task Force
(sponsor)
OPPOSITION
None on file.
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