BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1197
Page 1
GOVERNOR'S VETO
AB 1197 (Firebaugh)
As Amended January 4, 2000
2/3 vote
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |42-35|(June 4, 1999) |SENATE: |23-12|(August 29, |
| | | | | |2000) |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
ASSEMBLY: 52-16 (August 31, 2000)
Original Committee Reference: HIGHER ED.
SUMMARY : Requires, for purposes of assessing mandatory
systemwide fees and nonresident tuition to students at the
California State University (CSU) and California Community
Colleges (CCC), that any student who: 1) attended a California
high school for at least three years; 2) graduated from high
school; 3) continues his or her education at a California higher
education institution within one year of graduation; and, 4) is
actively seeking the legalization of his/her immigration status,
as specified, will only pay mandatory systemwide fees, not
nonresident tuition. Specifically, this bill requires that
students seeking legalized immigration status provide sufficient
documentation, which may include:
1)A copy of the application or petition.
2)Evidence from the Immigration and Naturalization Service
(INS), or other governmental agency, indicating that the
individual is in the process of seeking legalized status.
3)An affidavit from an attorney that the individual is engaged
in the Immigration and Naturalization Process.
Furthermore, this measure requests that UC take action to exempt
AB 1197
Page 2
those students meeting the above-noted requirements from paying
nonresident tuition.
The Senate amendments narrow this bill to exempt from
nonresident tuition only those students who can provide proof,
as specified, that they have initiated the application process
for lawful immigration status with the federal INS or other
appropriate government entity.
EXISTING LAW establishes residency requirements for students
attending a CSU or CCC campus and requires CSU and CCCs to
charge nonresident tuition to any student who is not a
California resident; furthermore, current law precludes
undocumented students from establishing residency in California.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill would have allowed
undocumented students, meeting specified criteria, to be
exempted from nonresident tuition.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee
analysis, this bill would result in unknown, major costs.
Further, the Senate Appropriations Committee notes that it is
unknown at this time how many students would be affected by this
measure, but it appears that between 750 and 1,500 students may
potentially enroll at CSU under the provisions of this measure.
COMMENTS : This bill does not change the definition of
"California Resident" nor does it alter current law regarding
the assessment of nonresident tuition to students that are not
"California Residents." Instead, this bill simply requires that
CSU and CCC charge only mandatory systemwide fees and not
nonresident tuition to those students who: 1) attended a
California high school for at least three years; 2) graduated
from high school; 3) continue their education at a postsecondary
institution; and, 4) provide proof that they have an
application/petition for lawful immigration status.
According to the author, many of the students that would benefit
under this bill are children of parents who have been granted
amnesty by the federal government and are waiting for their own
AB 1197
Page 3
applications for citizenship to be accepted by INS. The
majority of these students consider California their home and
are expected to become citizens.
Last year, CSU resident undergraduate students paid $1,506 in
mandatory systemwide fees, while nonresident students paid
$9,253. At UC, resident undergraduate students paid $3,609
while nonresident students paid $14,547. In the 1999-2000
fiscal year, the amount of nonresident tuition will increase to
$9,991 for CSU students and $14,959 for UC students.
For many of these students, the biggest barrier to attending and
enrolling in college is the cost. Under federal and state law,
undocumented students, regardless of their academic achievement
or financial need, are not eligible for federal or state
financial aid nor are they eligible to receive campus-based aid
or subsidized student loans.
This bill will help talented California high school students,
who cannot afford to pay nonresident tuition, to afford college.
While the costs of attending CSU and CCC will still be
difficult for many families to meet, this bill takes a positive
step towards ensuring that postsecondary education truly is
accessible and affordable for all our state's students.
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE :
This bill would exempt any person who has filed a
petition for lawful immigration Status and meets other
specified criteria, from paying non-resident fees for
attending the California Community Colleges, the
California State University, or the University of
California.
Pursuant to the illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA),
undocumented aliens are ineligible to receive
postsecondary education benefits based on state
residence unless a citizen or national of the United
States would be eligible for the same benefits without
AB 1197
Page 4
regard to their residence (Title VIII, Section 1623).
In order for undocumented students to be exempt from
paying non-resident tuition charges as called for in
this legislation, IIRIRA would require that all
out-of-state legal residents be eligible for this same
benefit. Based on Fall 1998 enrollment figures at the
University of California and the California State
University alone, this legislation could result in a
revenue loss of over $63.7 million to the State.
For the reasons outlined above, I cannot support AB
1197. I believe the State's Priorities and funding
must be focused on higher education attainment for
California legal residents, both present and future.
Analysis Prepared by : Amy Supinger / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
FN: 0007599