BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1557
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Date of Hearing: April 9, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 1557 (Holden) - As Amended: March 24, 2014
Policy Committee: Higher
EducationVote:11-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill modifies the composition of the California Community
Colleges (CCC) Board of Governors (BOG) as follows:
1)Adds a voting and a non-voting student member who are current
or former members of the Armed Forces.
2)Requires one of the 12 board members appointed by the governor
and subject to confirmation by the Senate be a current or
former member of the Armed Forces with demonstrated expertise
and leadership in veterans' affairs.
FISCAL EFFECT
Minor costs associated with expenses for the additional two
student members to attend BOG meetings.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . This bill adds a voting and nonvoting student veteran
to the board and requires that one of the governor's 12
appointees have expertise in veterans' affairs. The author
believes it is imperative that veterans be given two seats on
the board to provide first-hand insight as the board develops
veteran-specific long- and short-term educational policies.
The author states, "With strategic planning, CCCs can play a
prominent role in providing our veterans as well as active
duty members with vocational training, career advancement
training, opportunities to achieve Associate Degrees, and a
path to four year colleges-that is why it is essential that we
AB 1557
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expand the CCC BOG to include two representatives from this
group."
2)Current BOG Make-up . The BOG establishes statewide policy for
the CCC and provides guidance to the 72 locally-governed
community college districts. The CCC BOG consists of the
following 16 voting members and one nonvoting member, all
appointed by the governor:
a) Twelve members subject to Senate confirmation, who serve
for six-year (staggered) terms. Two of these 12 members are
to be current or former elected members of local CCC
district governing boards.
b) One voting student member and one nonvoting student
member appointed from a list of names of at least three
persons submitted to the Governor by the California Student
Association of Community Colleges. These students serve
staggered two-year terms-as the nonvoting member in their
first year and the voting member in their second year.
c) Two tenured faculty members, for two-year terms,
appointed from a list of names of at least three persons
furnished by the Academic Senate of the CCCs.
d) One classified employee, for a two-year term, appointed
from a list of at least three persons furnished by the
exclusive representatives of classified employees of the
CCCs.
It should be noted that the current board president and one
other board member are military veterans. Moreover, there is a
large backlog in the appointments process throughout the
administration. Though CCC BOG by statue is to have 17
members, there are currently only 10 members, with several
having terms expiring this year.
3)An Unwise Precedent ? About 44,000 veterans are currently
enrolled in the CCC. While this enrollment is nearly five
times the combined number of student veterans at the
University of California (UC) and the California State
University (CSU), it nevertheless represents only about two
percent of total CCC enrollment. Would the designation and
addition of veterans to the BOG encourage other CCC student
interest groups to likewise seek specific BOG representation?
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Moreover, is it necessary, or desirable, given the broad range
of issues for the board's consideration, to have individual
board members with a particular focus or interest? Neither the
UC Board of Regents nor the CSU Board of Trustees include
specific membership qualifications as called for in this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081