BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 619
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 28, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Mary Hayashi, Chair
SB 619 (Fuller) - As Amended: June 22, 2011
SENATE VOTE : 39-0
SUBJECT : California Postsecondary Education Act of 2009:
exemptions.
SUMMARY : Exempts flight instructors or flight schools that
provide flight instruction pursuant to Federal Aviation
Administration regulations and that meet specified criteria from
the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009
(Act), which is enforced by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary
Education (Bureau) within the Department of Consumer Affairs
(DCA). Specifically, this bill :
1)Exempts from the Act flight instructors or flight schools that
provide flight instruction pursuant to Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) regulations and that meet the following
criteria:
a) The flight instructor or flight school does not require
students to enter into written or oral contracts of
indebtedness; and,
b) The flight instructor or flight school does not require
prepayment of tuition or fees and does not accept
prepayment of tuition or fees in excess of $2,500.
2)Repeals the provision that prohibits the Bureau, for the
period of July 1, 2010 to July 1, 2011, inclusive, from
enforcing the Act against educational institutions engaged in
flight instruction and aircraft maintenance, as specified,
under the Act is those institutions notify the bureau that
they are in operation during that time period.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes the Act, which provides, among other things, for
student protections and regulatory oversight of private
postsecondary schools in the state and is enforced by the
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Bureau within the DCA.
2)Makes exemptions for specified institutions from oversight by
the Bureau.
3)Prohibits the Bureau, for the period of July 1, 2010 to July
1, 2011, inclusive, from enforcing the Act against educational
institutions engaged in flight instruction and aircraft
maintenance, as specified, under the Act is those institutions
notify the bureau that they are in operation during that time
period.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Purpose of this bill . According to the author's office,
"Aviation, due to its interstate nature and value to the nation
as a transportation system, has long been regulated by the
federal government. This federal preemption exists to ensure
that our national system of aviation is subjected to a single
standard and is necessary on the most basic of levels. The
skills necessary to operate an aircraft safely remain the same
regardless of where the pilot is trained. It is not within the
purview of the state to regulate this instruction.
"SB 619 simply adds an exemption to the Act for flight
instructors and flight schools who do not accept prepayment of
more than $2,500 in advance of instruction. The $2,500 amount
is a generally accepted risk level that already has precedent
within the Act and allows instructors to schedule airplanes and
generally anticipate their immediate upcoming workload."
Background . AB 48 was enacted in January 1, 2010 and created a
new foundation for oversight and responded to the major problems
with the former Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education
Reform Act of 1989 (Former Act), which expired on July 1, 2007.
The Act as created by AB 48 (Portantino and Niello), Chapter
8.5, Statutes of 2009, requires all unaccredited colleges in
California to be approved by the new Bureau and all nationally
accredited colleges to comply with numerous student protections.
It also establishes prohibitions on false advertising and
inappropriate recruiting. The Act requires disclosure of
critical information to students such as program outlines,
graduation and job placement rates, and license examination
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information, and ensures colleges justify those figures. The
Act also guarantees students can complete their educational
objectives if their institution closes its doors, and, most
importantly, it gives the Bureau an array of enforcement tools
to ensure institutions comply with the law.
Oversight of flight schools . The FAA regulates most aspects of
flight instruction. However, federal law does not regulate the
business practices of many of these flight schools, including
the types of student protections provided by Bureau. The FAA
regulates flight schools based on certain designations attained
by an individual or institution. There are currently no states
other than California that regulate flight instructors or flight
training institutions as postsecondary or vocational
institutions.
The Former Act specifically referenced the regulation of flight
training providers in California and provided certain
exemptions. It specified that all institutions that were
certified to offer flight instruction by the FAA and that
operated in California on December 31, 1990, receive approval
from the former Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational
Education (Former Bureau) for a period not to exceed three
years. It also required that on or before June 30, 1999, the
Former Bureau to work in cooperation with the FAA on reviewing
each of these institutions to determine whether the institution
was in compliance with the requirements of the Former Act. It
provided Legislative intent that all institutions whose
cumulative gross student loan default rate was above 40 percent,
as determined by the Student Aid Commission, be reviewed by the
FAA and the Former Bureau to determine if these institutions
were in compliance with the requirements of the Act and eligible
for approval to offer educational programs in California.
The Former Act further provided that institutions certified to
offer flight instruction by the FAA, or its successor agency,
shall comply with certain specified student protection
requirements of the Act, but shall not be required to file any
materials with the Former Bureau that are not required by the
FAA or its successor agency, except those minimally necessary to
administer the student Tuition Recovery Fund as determined by
the Former Bureau. The responsibility for monitoring and
enforcing institutional compliance for these instructions was
the responsibility of the Former Bureau.
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Previous legislation . SB 856 (Budget and Fiscal Review
Committee), Chapter 719, Statutes of 2010, contained the
language from AB 1889 (Portantino) of 2010 and AB 1140 (Niello)
of 2010 to provide a temporary exemption to the Act for
institutions that offer flight instruction or institutions that
offer FAA certified educational programs in aircraft maintenance
from filing applications for approval to operate. This
exemption expires on July 1, 2011.
AB 1889 and AB 1140 were amended to provide a delay
implementation of the Act for institutions that offer flight
instruction, or an institution that offers FAA certified
educational programs in aircraft maintenance. AB 1889 was
vetoed by the Governor due to provisions unrelated to the flight
school exemption; AB 1140 was placed on the Senate Floor
inactive file and was not considered by the Senate as a whole
with the flight school exemption.
AB 2746 (Niello) of 2008 was similar to AB 48, but it
specifically exempted "an institution certified to offer
educational programs in flight instruction and aircraft
maintenance by the FAA" from regulation. That measure was held
under submission in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations.
Double-referred . This bill has been double-referred to the
Assembly Higher Education Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
National Air Transportation Association (sponsor)
Aeroplex/Aerolease Group
Association of California Airports
California Airports Council
California Pilots Association
Southwest Chapter of the American Association of Airport
Van Nuys Airport Association
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Marina Wiant / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301
SB 619
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