BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 384
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Date of Hearing: June 10, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Das Williams, Chair
SB 384 (Gaines and DeSaulnier) - As Amended: June 2, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 37-0
SUBJECT : California Memorial Scholarship Program.
SUMMARY : Extends the deadlines by which dependents of
California victims who died during the terrorist attacks on
September 11, 2001, must be notified of their eligibility for,
and must inform and execute agreements to participate in the
California Memorial Scholarship Program (CMSP) administered by
the Scholarshare Investment Board (SIB); and, establishes
certain parameters as to how the California Victim Compensation
and Government Claims Board (VCGCB) shall identify and outreach
to eligible persons. Specifically, this bill :
1)Specifies that the VCGCB shall identify all persons who are
eligible for scholarships under CMSP and that the VCGCB shall
use various methods to identify those persons, including, but
not limited to, all of the following:
a) Media outreach, including, but not limited to, social
media, that explains the details of CMSP, who is eligible
for scholarships under the program, and how to sign up for
further notifications regarding the program;
b) Written notification to persons, or in the case of
minors, their parents or guardians, who have already been
identified as eligible for scholarships under CMSP, and
their known family members. The notification shall explain
that the program has been reopened, and that the VCGCB is
seeking information regarding other persons who may be
eligible for the program, and shall provide instructions on
how to sign up for further notifications regarding the
program; and,
c) Communication with the Special Master of the federal
September 11th Victim Compensation Fund to determine if
additional victims who were California residents have been
identified.
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2)Stipulates that upon the creation of a new list of eligible
persons for CMSP, that the VCGCB shall notify these persons,
or in the case of minors, the parents or guardians of these
persons, of their eligibility for scholarships under the
program.
3)Creates the following criteria for how the VCGCB shall notify
eligible persons, or in the case of minors, the parents or
guardians of their CMSP eligibility and specifies the
following elements of the notification:
a) The notification shall be in writing;
b) The notification shall provide details on the program
and how to apply for scholarships under the program; and,
c) The notification shall be received by all of the
appropriate persons no later than July 1, 2015.
4)Specifies that the SIB shall only service scholarships to
individuals determined to be eligible by the VCGCB.
5)Extends the deadline by which eligible persons, or the parent
or guardian of an eligible person, must inform the SIB whether
they choose to participate in the CMSP and execute agreements
to do so from July 1, 2005 to July 1, 2016.
6)Establishes that this measure is an urgency statue to take
effect immediately.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the California Memorial Scholarship Program,
administered by the SIB and funded by Vehicle Code provisions,
to provide scholarships for surviving dependents of California
residents killed as a result of injuries sustained during the
September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks (Education Code �
70010).
2)Requires the VCGCB to identify all persons who are eligible
for scholarships under the CMSP by July 1, 2003; and, requires
that eligible persons, or the parent or guardian of an
eligible person, inform the SIB of their decision to
participate in the program and execute agreements to do so no
later than July 1, 2005 (EC � 70010.5).
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FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, this measure could lead to increased eligibility with
potentially significant costs, to the extent that additional
individuals who are eligible to participate in the scholarship
program are identified and choose to participate; and, for the
administration of the program, both the VCGCB and the SIB report
that any additional costs and workload would be minor and
absorbable within each agency's existing resources.
COMMENTS : Background . The goal of the CMSP, as established by
AB 1759 (Wesson), Chapter 38, Statutes of 2002, was to provide
scholarships of up to $5,000 for dependents of California
victims who died during the terrorist attacks on September 11,
2001. The CMSP is funded through the sale of 9/11 memorial
license plates as authorized by the Legislature. Dependents, or
the parents or guardians of minor dependents, were to be
notified of their eligibility for the CMSP by the VCGCB.
Eligible dependents interested in receiving scholarship funds
had to contact the SIB and execute a participation agreement
prior to the legislative deadline of June 30, 2005.
Under the administration of the SIB, scholarship funds were
deposited on behalf of beneficiaries to accounts within the
Golden State Scholarshare College Savings Trust. The
scholarships can be used at eligible vocational, technical and
trade schools, in addition to four-year colleges, universities,
and two-year colleges, to pay for qualified higher education
expenses until the beneficiary's 30th birthday or the year 2015,
whichever occurs later. The funds also may be used for graduate
studies.
To note: The scholarship and earnings are the property of the
State of California until requested by the beneficiary to pay
for qualified higher educational expenses. Any unused funds
must be returned to the State on the beneficiary's 30th birthday
or year 2015, whichever occurs later. These funds are
specifically designated to revert to the Antiterrorism Fund,
created under existing Vehicle Code provisions.
California State Auditor's Report . According to the State
Auditor's April 2013 report entitled, "Special Interest License
Plate Funds," the VCGCB failed to identify and notify all
individuals eligible for the CMSP by July 1, 2003, as required
under state law. The report found that, while the VCGCB
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believes that its outreach was adequate to identify all
individuals who might be eligible for the scholarship program,
most of the outreach that the VCGCB performed predated the
actual establishment of the CMSP and did not mention the program
by name. Additionally, the report noted that three of the 16
participants learned of the program through means other than
VCGCB's outreach. To note: The VCGCB did not notify all
eligible individuals of the CMSP before the deadline;
subsequently, those individuals were left with less than three
months to apply for the scholarship instead of the two years as
required by law. Lastly, the report found that only 13 of the
43 individuals that the VCGCB identified as eligible for the
scholarship program and the three other individuals who were not
screened for eligibility, ultimately participated.
Purpose of the bill . According to the authors, because the
VCGCB did not meet their statutory deadline for notification or
outreach to eligible participants, they want to re-open the CMSP
and, "give eligible students who may not have had the time or
notification the first time around, the ability to participate
in a scholarship that was put in place specifically to assist
them."
This bill will give a new time frame that the VCGCB must adhere
to in order to identify and notify eligible participants of the
CMSP and gives the VCGCB further instructions on how to conduct
the application process - ensuring that all eligible dependents
have ample opportunity to apply.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
SB 384
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