BILL NUMBER: SB 174 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE JANUARY 28, 2014
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 20, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE JANUARY 6, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Senator De León
(Coauthor: Senator Liu)
FEBRUARY 5, 2013
An act to add Section 69431.7 to the Education Code, relating to
student financial aid, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take
effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 174, De León. Student financial aid: Cal Grant Program.
Existing law, the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant
Program, establishes the Cal Grant A and B Entitlement awards, the
California Community College Transfer Cal Grant Entitlement awards,
the Competitive Cal Grant A and B awards, the Cal Grant C awards, and
the Cal Grant T awards under the administration of the Student Aid
Commission, and establishes eligibility requirements for awards under
these programs for participating students attending qualifying
institutions. Under the Cal Grant B Entitlement Program, awards may
be made for access costs, defined as living expenses and expenses for
transportation, supplies, and books, in an amount not to exceed
$1,551 annually, as adjusted in the annual Budget Act.
This bill would require the Treasurer to certify the amount of
moneys available in an academic year from the College Access Tax
Credit Fund for distribution, and provide that an amount determined
by the Student Aid Commission would be available for expenditure,
upon appropriation to the commission by the Legislature in the annual
Budget Act, from the College Access Tax Credit Fund, for
distribution to students to supplement Cal Grant B access cost awards
to bring those students' total annual awards for access costs to not
more than $5,000 and to defray the administrative costs incurred by
the commission in implementing the bill.
The bill would become operative only if SB 798 is enacted and
becomes operative on or before January 1, 2015.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) In addressing California's fiscal crisis, state budget
solutions over the last several fiscal years have included deep cuts
and payment deferrals that have resulted in the loss of billions of
dollars in funding for all segments of postsecondary education.
(b) In the 2011-12 fiscal year, the state contributed $16.4
billion to postsecondary education. However, the share of
expenditures borne by California State University students in the
form of fees has nearly doubled, from 18 percent in 2007-08, to 30
percent in 2011-12. A public postsecondary education has become
unaffordable for the middle class. Most students are leaving school
thousands of dollars in debt, and they end up sending monthly
payments to out-of-state banks rather than contributing to the local
economy.
(c) With less access to postsecondary education due to courses
being cut, each year students are taking longer and longer to
graduate. It now takes the average student seven years to graduate
from a California Community College campus, six and one-half years to
graduate from a California State University campus, and four and
one-half years to graduate from a University of California campus.
(d) Educational attainment levels predict the overall economic
performance of states and nations. California was always among the
top states in degree-completion rates, but it now ranks among the
bottom 10 states.
(e) By 2018, 63 percent of all jobs in the United States will
require some form of postsecondary education or training, according
to estimates by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the
Workforce. The United States is on track to deliver only a fraction
of this education. Currently, only 38 percent of America's young
adults have a college degree, compared to 58 percent in South Korea.
(f) California's postsecondary education system has helped build
and sustain an entrepreneurial spirit that has shaped new sectors of
the state's economy. During tough times like these, we need novel
approaches to steer the state back on track.
(g) Estimates show that the College Access Tax Credit Fund will be
fully subscribed for each of the three years of the program,
allowing the California Student Aid Commission to fund larger access
grants to California's neediest students.
(h) All Californians deserve access to an affordable postsecondary
education.
SEC. 2. Section 69431.7 is added to the Education Code, to read:
69431.7. (a) As used in this section, "fund" means the College
Access Tax Credit Fund created by Section 17053.86 of the Revenue and
Taxation Code.
(b) Any moneys that may be appropriated from the fund for purposes
of this section shall be in addition to, and are intended to
supplement, other moneys appropriated for the Cal Grant Program. Upon
the creation of the fund, and during its existence, the amount of
the Cal Grant B access award as established in the annual Budget Act
shall not be adjusted below the amount set forth in the Budget Act of
2012.
(c) On April 1, 2015, and on April 1 annually thereafter, the
Treasurer shall certify the amount of moneys available for
distribution from the fund for the academic year commencing the
following July 1. The amount available for distribution in any
academic year shall not exceed 85 percent of the certified fund
balance. Notwithstanding any other law, the commission shall
thereafter determine the amount of the supplemental awards to be
granted and the administrative costs that will be incurred, and
include these amounts in the budget change proposals submitted each
fiscal year pursuant to Section 69518. The amount determined by the
commission under this subdivision shall be available, upon
appropriation by the Legislature to the commission in the annual
Budget Act, for the purpose of making awards to students in
accordance with this section.
(d) If, after making supplemental awards pursuant to subdivision
(e), moneys remain in the fund, those moneys shall remain in the fund
for allocation in future fiscal years.
(e) Disbursements shall be made upon annual appropriation by the
Legislature to the commission under this section for both of the
following purposes:
(1) To supplement awards made for access costs under Article 3
(commencing with Section 69435), Article 4 (commencing with Section
69436), and Article 5 (commencing with Section 69437). The amount of
the supplemental award, when added to the amount of the award made
for access costs established by the annual Budget Act, shall not
exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000). An award under this section is
payable only to the extent that moneys are available from the fund.
The commission shall inform each recipient of an award under this
section that the award is for one academic year only, is not an
entitlement, and that future supplemental awards are subject to the
availability of moneys in the fund.
(2) To defray the administrative costs incurred by the commission
in implementing this section.
SEC. 3. This act shall become operative only if Senate Bill 798 is
enacted and becomes operative on or before January 1, 2015.
SEC. 4. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
As our state economy is recovering, it is important to provide
adequate funding for Cal Grant B access awards beginning in the
2015-16 academic year so that students receiving these awards can
stay enrolled, and it is therefore necessary that this act take
effect immediately so that this program may be funded by donations to
the College Access Tax Credit Fund made during 2014.