Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 105

Introduced by Senator Lieu

April 1, 2014

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 105—Relative to Financial Aid and Literacy Month.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SCR 105, as introduced, Lieu. Financial Aid and Literacy Month.

This measure would declare the month of April 2014 as Financial Aid and Literacy Month to raise public awareness about the continuing need for increased financial literacy.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, The final report of the President’s Advisory Council
on Financial Capability issued on February 19, 2013, urges the
integration of personal finance into the teaching of math and
English language arts Common Core State Standards for K-12
education as well as other subjects; and

WHEREAS, Assembly Bill 166 (Chapter 135 of the Statutes of
2013) requires that financial education, including budgeting,
managing credit, student loans, consumer debt, and identity theft
security, is included in the next revision of the social sciences,
health, and mathematics curricula; and

WHEREAS, A 2013 Junior Achievement/Allstate Foundation
study found that 52 percent of teenagers think students are
borrowing too much to pay for college, yet only 9 percent report
they are currently saving money for college; and

WHEREAS, A 2013 College Savings Foundation survey of
teenagers found that 51 percent wished that their current high
school offered financial literacy instruction for them and their
families to prepare for college costs; and

WHEREAS, Only 27 percent of parents who are saving for
college use a 529 college savings plan, according to a 2013 Sallie
Mae/Ipsos study; and

WHEREAS, According to a NerdWallet analysis, American
consumers owe collectively $11.36 trillion, including $856.9 billion
in credit card debt, and more than $1 billion in student loan debt
as of January 2014; and

WHEREAS, The Javelin Strategy & Research’s 2014 Identity
Fraud Report notes that 13.1 million Americans were victims of
identity theft in 2013; and

WHEREAS, According to a 2013 MetLife Mature Market
Institute study, only one-quarter of the oldest Baby Boomers own
private long-term care insurance; and

WHEREAS, A 2013 survey by the National Foundation for
Credit Counseling and the Network Branded Prepaid Card
Association found that only 40 percent of American adults say
they have a budget and are keeping close track of their spending,
yet 43 percent of Americans (100 million people) say they do not
have enough money saved for emergencies, and 38 percent are
worried that they will not have enough savings for retirement; and

WHEREAS, That study also found that 78 percent of United
States adults believe they could benefit from professional advice
regarding their financial questions; and

WHEREAS, The United States ranks fourth among 28 nations
in having the most financially literate people, according to the
2012 Global Financial Literacy Barometer; and

WHEREAS, Only 33 percent of parents say they talk to their
children about money more than once a week, and 49 percent of
teenagers have not developed a budget with their parents regarding
the saving or spending of their own money, according to a 2012
Capital One survey; and

WHEREAS, According to the 2012 Visa International Financial
Literacy Barometer, families in the United States talk to their
children about finances only 25.8 days per year; and

WHEREAS, Forty percent of American adults gave themselves
a grade of C or less regarding their knowledge of personal finance
according to a 2013 study conducted on behalf of the National
Foundation for Credit Counseling; and

WHEREAS, Approximately 61 million Americans are worried
about paying off their debt commitments, while 65 percent have
not reviewed their credit report, according to the study conducted
on behalf of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling; and

WHEREAS, A 2012 College Savings Foundation study noted
that recent graduates are at least 50 percent more likely to put off
life choices often associated with financial independence than
those who graduated seven or more years ago; and

WHEREAS, Similar resolutions have been introduced and
passed with strong bipartisan support to increase awareness of the
need for financial literacy for California citizens; now, therefore,
be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby declares the month
of April 2014 as Financial Aid and Literacy Month to raise public
awareness about the continuing need for increased financial
literacy; and be it further

Resolved, That legislators, employers, schools, service groups,
community organizations, libraries, financial institutions, and the
media shall be encouraged to provide opportunities for financial
literacy education for all Californians through a variety of means
and to collaborate with members of the California Society of
Certified Public Accountants, the California Jump$tart Coalition,
and others as they provide outreach and education; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.