BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1862
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 1, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Das Williams, Chair
AB 1862 (Melendez) - As Introduced: February 19, 2014
SUBJECT : Postsecondary education: financial aid.
SUMMARY : Deletes the July 1, 2019 sunset of the California
National Guard (CNG) Education Assistance Award Program (EAAP);
extending the CNG EAAP indefinitely.
1)EXISTING LAW 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
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
AB 1862
Page 2
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
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
AB 1862
Page 3
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, CNG EAAP is crucial
to helping service members of the CNG further their education.
The author states, "The discontinuation of the program in July
of 2019, will no longer allow our service members to strive for
a secondary education."
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* |
AB 1862
Page 4
-----------------------------------------------------------------
*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
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.
Committee consideration . As discussed in the "Existing Law"
section of this analysis, the LAO, on or before January 1, 2016,
is to issue a report to the Legislature on the status of the CNG
EAAP that may include recommendations for modifying or extending
the program. Should the committee vote to delete the sunset of
the CNG EAAP prior to receiving the LAO recommendations?
Instead of deleting the sunset of the CNG EAAP, staff recommends
that this measure be amended to move the due date of the LAO
report on the status of the CNG EAAP that may include
recommendations for modifying or extending the program, from on
or before January 1, 2016, to on or before January 31, 2015.
AB 1862
Page 5
Related legislation . AB 1781 (Linder), which is scheduled to be
heard in this committee today, revises the eligibility condition
of the CNG 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.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Legion, Department of California
AMVETS, Department of California
California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
California State Commanders Veterans Council
Military Officers Association of America, California Council of
Chapters
Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960