BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 736
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 1, 2013

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                     AB 736 (Fox) - As Amended:  April 16, 2013 

          Policy Committee:                              Higher  
          EducationVote:11-1

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          The bill requires the Chancellor of the California State  
          University (CSU) to study the feasibility of establishing, in  
          the Antelope Valley, a satellite program and, ultimately an  
          independent CSU campus. The study is to include 12 specific  
          elements and be funded solely from private funds. The study  
          would have to be completed within 18 months after sufficient  
          funds were available.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          One-time non-state cost of around $600,000 for the feasibility  
          study, which would include physical and academic planning and  
          environmental and traffic studies. Development of a new CSU  
          campus would probably require initial capital outlays of tens of  
          millions of dollars and at least several million dollars  
          annually in start-up costs.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  . According to the author's office, many students in  
            the Antelope Valley are unable to travel to the closest CSU  
            campuses to obtain their four-year degrees and thus cannot  
            continue their education due to a lack of reasonable access to  
            a public four-year institution.  The author contends that the  
            closest CSU campuses (at Northridge and Bakersfield) are  
            approximately one to two and one-half hours away,  
            respectively, by car.

           2)The California State University at Bakersfield - Antelope  
            Valley Regional Center (CSUB-AV)  .  CSUB-AV opened in 2000 on  








                                                                  AB 736
                                                                  Page  2

            the campus of Antelope Valley College and is fully accredited  
            by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.  The  
            center currently offers only eight undergraduate degrees and  
            five graduate degrees, however.
           
          3)Prior Legislation  . In 2009, AB 24 (Block), a substantially  
            similar bill that call for a privately-funded feasibility  
            study for a CSU campus in Chula Vista (San Diego County), was  
            vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger, who argued that a state  
            mandate for such a study was not necessary. 

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081