BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2164
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|Author: |O'Donnell |
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|Version: |June 9, 2016 Hearing |
| |Date: June 15, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Lynn Lorber |
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Subject: Public postsecondary education: tuition and fees
SUMMARY
This bill expands fee waiver requirements for survivors of
deceased law enforcement or firefighters at California's public
postsecondary education institutions to include mandatory
campus-based fees, and expands eligibility for the waiver to
include survivors of a law enforcement officer or firefighter
who died as the result of an industrial injury or illness
related to their job duties.
BACKGROUND
Existing law:
1) Requires that mandatory systemwide fees be waived by the
University of California (UC) Regents, the Board of
Directors of Hastings College of Law, or California State
University (CSU) Trustees, for any surviving spouse or
child, of a deceased person, who met all of the following
requirements:
a) Was a California resident.
b) Was employed by a public agency, or was a
contractor, or an employee of a contractor, performing
services for a public agency.
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c) The person's principal duties consisted of active
law enforcement service or active fire suppression and
prevention.
d) Was killed in the performance of active law
enforcement or active fire suppression and prevention
duties, or died as a result of an accident or an
injury caused by external violence or physical force,
incurred in the performance of his or her active law
enforcement or active fire suppression and prevention
duties. (Education Code § 68120)
2) Requires that enrollment fees at the California Community
Colleges be waived for any student who meets the
requirements outlined above. (EC § 76300(i))
3) Requires that any determination of eligibility for these
fee waiver requirements to be consistent with any findings
of the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board,
using the same procedures as in workers' compensation hearings,
as to whether the death of the person, as specified, was
industrial. (EC § 68120.5)
4) Provides various workers' compensation benefits for
firefighters, police officers, sheriffs, and their
survivors in case of death for injuries and illness caused
by the long terms exposures they face in their line of
work, including, but not limited to cancer and leukemia,
tuberculosis, and blood-borne infectious diseases or skin
infections, as specified. (Labor Code § 3212.1, § 3212.6,
and § 3212.8)
ANALYSIS
This bill:
1) Expands the fee waiver requirements applicable to the
survivors of deceased law enforcement or firefighters at
California's public postsecondary education institutions,
as follows:
a) Expands the waiver beyond systemwide
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fees to also include mandatory campus-based fees.
b) Expands eligibility for the waiver to
include the survivors of a law enforcement officer or
a firefighter who died as the result of an industrial
injury or illness related to their job duties.
c) Expands fee waiver provisions to apply
to the California Community Colleges.
2) Makes several technical and conforming changes.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill. According to the author, tuition and
fee waivers for eligible survivors have been
"inconsistently awarded both within a single system and
across the varying segments." The sponsors of the bill
(California Professional Firefighters) note that the
California Fire Foundation, which assists families of
fallen fire-fighters, brought this issue to their attention
when one surviving child of a firefighter who died as a
result of job related cancer (an industrial illness) was
granted a tuition waiver by a community college while the
other surviving child was denied the waiver by the
California State University system.
This fee waiver currently only applies to mandatory
systemwide fees. This bill prohibits the collection of
mandatory fees or tuition of any kind, thereby requiring
the waiver of campus-based fees.
2) Expansion of eligibility. According to the sponsor, the
fee waiver requirements in existing law were enacted before
many of the existing public safety job-caused illnesses
were deemed compensable under the state worker's
compensation system. This bill clarifies that the fee
waiver eligibility would be consistent with any findings of
the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board and ensures that
fee waiver benefits would extend to survivors of first
responders whose death resulted from occupational
illnesses.
3) Existing fees. Existing law provides for a number of
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additional mandatory fee waivers, including for dependents
or survivors of disabled or deceased California veterans,
certain recipients (or children of recipients) of a
Congressional Medal of Honor, and dependents of victims of
the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. These statutory
waivers apply exclusively to systemwide mandatory fees.
Campuses may also charge additional mandatory campus-based
fees related to student services. For example:
a) Community college students may have enrollment
fees waived under the Board of Governor Fee Waiver
programs, but could still be subject to a health fee,
the student representation fee, and parking or
transportation fees (although existing law caps the
allowable fee for students on financial assistance).
b) At the California State University (CSU),
these could include fees for health facilities, health
services, associated student body, materials services
and facilities, instructionally related activities,
orientation, athletics recreation and transit.
Recently enacted legislation, AB 1000 (Weber, Chapter
636, 2015) requires a binding student vote prior to
implementation and provides that these fees may be
rescinded at any time after six years with another
binding majority student vote, except that student
success fees supporting ongoing and long-term
obligations may not be rescinded until the obligation
is satisfied.
c) At the University of California (UC),
campus-based fees support a variety of
campus-specific, student-related expenditures and
programs such as student government, and construction,
renovation, and maintenance of student activities and
recreational facilities, which are not funded by
mandatory university wide fees. Campus-based fees are
initiated or modified by student referendum with final
approval by the President of the UC.
Although campus-based fees are not currently waived as part of
the state mandated program, both the UC and the CSU report that
campus-based mandatory fees are included in the cost of
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attendance, and most low-income students would have these fees
covered via their award package (federal Pell grant, Cal Grant,
State University Grant).
4) How many students? According to the Assembly
Appropriations Committee analysis, the UC indicates less
than 20 students are currently receiving the systemwide fee
waiver. The total is 36 students at CSU and was about 350
at the community colleges in 2014-15. The numbers of
additional students at each segment who would become
eligible for a waiver under this bill is unknown, but
assuming it is one-half the above numbers, the Assembly
Appropriations Committee estimates annual revenue losses of
about $134,000 at UC, $123,000 at CSU and $160,000 at the
CCC. In addition, since the bill waives mandatory
campus-based fees, there would be additional revenue losses
of $11,000 at UC and $48,000 at CSU.
SUPPORT
California Professional Firefighters
Peace Officers Research Association of California
OPPOSITION
None received.
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