BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1781
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Date of Hearing: April 1, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Das Williams, Chair
AB 1781 (Linder) - As Introduced: February 18, 2014
SUBJECT : California National Guard Education Assistance Award
Program.
SUMMARY : Revises the eligibility condition of the California
National Guard (CNG) Education Assistance Award Program (EAAP)
to specify that it is satisfied by a person enrolling in at
least three academic units per semester, or the equivalent
thereof, including summer sessions and intersession terms.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the CNG EAAP to enhance retention within the CNG
and sets specific conditions of eligibility for participation
in the program, including, but not limited to the following:
1) the person is a resident of California, as specified in
current law; 2) the person is an active member of, and has
served two years in, the CNG, the State Military Reserve
(SMR), or the Naval Militia; 3) the person has been accepted
or registered at, enrolled in, a qualifying institution, as
specified in current law; 4) the person has submitted the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to the U. S.
Department of Education; and, 5) each person applying for the
CNG EAAP shall submit an application for an award to the
Adjutant General;
2)Specifies that the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) is
responsible for issuing the awards upon receipt of a
certificate from the Adjutant General verifying that the
applicant meets the eligibility requirements and requires CSAC
to report annually to the Legislature regarding the EAAP
participants, as specified;
3)Specifies that qualifying members shall not receive both a CNG
EAAP and any Cal Grant award in the same academic year and
specifies the amount of an award issued shall be as follows:
1) for a recipient attending the University of California (UC)
or the California State University (CSU), the maximum amount
of the Cal Grant A award, pursuant to current law, as adjusted
in the annual Budget Act; 2) for a recipient attending a
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community college, the maximum amount of the Cal Grant B
award, pursuant to current law, as adjusted in the annual
Budget Act; and, 3) for a recipient attending a nonpublic
institution, the maximum amount of a Cal Grant A award for a
student attending the UC pursuant to current law, as adjusted
in the annual Budget Act;
4)Specifies the following: 1) an award used for graduate studies
shall not exceed the maximum amount of a Cal Grant A award, as
specified, plus $500.00 for books and supplies; 2) the award
amount shall not exceed the difference between the recipient's
cost of attendance and any other student financial aid and
educational benefits pursuant to the federal Montgomery GI
Bill (38 U.S.C. Sec. 3001, et seq.) or any other federal
educational benefits program for veterans; and, 3) CNG
Education Assistance awards may be renewed for each new
academic year, for a maximum of the greater of either 1) four
years of full-time equivalent enrollment or 2) the duration
for which the qualifying member would otherwise be eligible
pursuant to the Cal Grant Program, if the Adjutant General
certifies the qualifying member's eligibility and the
qualifying member maintains at least a 2.0 cumulative grade
point average; and,
5)Tasks the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO), on or before
January 1, 2016, to prepare and submit to the Legislature a
report on the CNG EAAP, including recommendations for
modifying or extending the CNG EAAP; and, specifies that the
CNG EAAP, as of July 1, 2019 shall become inoperative, and on
January 1, 2020, is repealed unless a later enacted statute,
that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2020, deletes
or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is
repealed (Education Code � 69999.16, et seq.).
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Background . The CNG EAAP, which went into effect on
January 1, 2010, is a State-funded grant for up to 1,000 service
members in the CNG, SMR, or the Naval Militia, or as many
participants as the annual budget will allow. CNG EAAP
authorizes the CSAC to make payments to eligible program
participants. Participants can receive up to the amount of the
Cal Grant A award for attending the UC or the CSU, up to the Cal
Grant B award for attending a community college, or up to the UC
Cal Grant A amount for attending a non-public institution. CNG
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EAAP graduate school students may receive an additional $500.00
for books and supplies.
Application process . Initial applicants must submit an EAAP
Initial Application, the Statement of Understanding, and FAFSA
prior to the application deadline dates indicated below. For
initial applicants, the priority application period starts on
January 15 (or the next business day) and ends on the priority
deadline date of April 30. The application process will
continue to remain open after April 30 on a first-come,
first-serve basis until January 14, or until all awards have
been exhausted. Renewal participants must complete the EAAP
Renewal Application and the Renewal Statement of Understanding.
Renewal paperwork is available from January 15 (or the next
business day) through the deadline date of June 1. Failure to
renew will result in withdrawal from the CNG EAAP.
Award dollars . The award amounts for recipients of the CNG EAAP
for the 2012-2013 and the 2013-14 Academic Year are:
1)Up to $1,473.00 at the community college (per Cal Grant B)
2)Up to $12, 192 at the UC or a non-public institution (per Cal
Grant A)
3)Up to $5,472 at the CSU (per Cal Grant A)
Need for the bill . According to the author, because summer and
intersession terms are not a part of the CNG EAAP eligibility
formula, student soldiers do not have the flexibility to take
courses on their own schedule if they happen to have a free
summer, extra time in winter, or if they have some sort of
hardship keeping them from enrolling during the traditional
spring and fall semester/quarters. The author contends that
this bill would help fulfill the mission of California's
postsecondary institutions, to reduce costs on students, help
alleviate the risk of debt and, ultimately expedite the time
that it takes to graduate. The author states, "This measure is
an easy and cost neutral way to support our State's soldiers in
their pursuit of academic achievement. The CNG students will
not be allocated any more money than they are now, instead they
will simply be able to extend whatever EAAP money they currently
receive to intersession and summer school terms, if they chose
to."
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How many ? According to the California Military Department,
since the enactment of the CNG EAAP, to date, the program has
not exceeded 1,000 awards in one academic year. To note, thus
far in the 2013-14 academic year (AY), there are 345
participants. The chart below shows the number of participants
in the CNG EAAP over the course of four years:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
| AY |Number of CNG EAAP Participants |
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
|2009-10 |243 |
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
|2010-11 |450 |
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
|2011-12 |322 |
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
|2012-13 |292* |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
*For the 2012-13 AY, 156 previously qualifying institutions
became ineligible because of a change to the definition of a
qualifying institution for the Cal Grant program. Due to this
change, 59 new applicants who had submitted completed
applications had to be turned away.
Award dollars ? According to the California Military Department,
in the 2013-14 AY, $2,445,535.00 has been budgeted for CNG EAAP
awards. To date, the CNG EAAP has paid out $1,532,485.00 in
awards for the 2013-14 AY. To note, the California Military
Department is projected to use all the funds for this AY. The
chart below shows the dollar amount that has been awarded to
eligible participants over the course of four years:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
| AY | Distributed Award Dollars |
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
|2009-10 |$795,759.00 |
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
|2010-11 |$2,472,246.00 |
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
|2011-12 |$2,418,392.00 |
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
|2012-13 |$1,988,534.00* |
| | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
*For the 2012-13 AY, 156 previously qualifying institutions
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became ineligible because of a change to the definition of a
qualifying institution for the Cal Grant program. Due to this
change, 59 new applicants who had submitted completed
applications had to be turned away.
Staff comments . If the intent of the author is to simply allow
an eligible person to use his or her CNG EAAP award during
summer sessions and intersession terms and not mandate that an
eligible person must attend summer sessions and intersession
terms in order to be eligible to receive the CNG EAAP award; the
author may wish to work with Legislative Counsel in order to
ensure his intent leaves no room for ambiguity.
Related legislation . AB 1862 (Melendez), which is scheduled to
be heard by this committee today, deletes the sunset of the CNG
EAAP.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Community College League of California
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960