AB 2166: Public postsecondary education: waiver of mandatory campus-based fees.
- Session Year: 2015-2016
- House: Assembly
- Latest Version Date: 2016-02-17
Existing law prohibits the Board of Directors of the Hastings College of the Law, the Trustees of the California State University, and, if they adopt an appropriate resolution, the Regents of the University of California, from collecting mandatory systemwide tuition and fees from any surviving spouse or surviving child of a deceased person who was a resident of the state and employed by or contracting with a public agency, whose principal duties consisted of active law enforcement service or active fire suppression and prevention, and who died as a result of his or her duties, as specified.
This bill would additionally require those institutions to excuse any mandatory campus-based fees for those persons described above. This requirement would apply to the University of California only if the regents, by resolution, make it applicable.
(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no mandatory systemwide fees or tuition or mandatory campus-based fees of any kind shall be required of or collected by the Regents of the University of California, the Board of Directors of the Hastings College of the Law, or the Trustees of the California State University, or any campus of the University of California or the California State University from any surviving spouse or surviving child of a deceased person who met all of the following requirements:
(1)He or she was a resident of this state.
(2)He or she was employed by a public agency, or was a contractor, or an employee of a contractor, performing services for a public agency.
(3)His or her principal duties consisted of active law enforcement service or active fire suppression and prevention. This section shall not apply to a person whose principal duties were clerical, even if he or she was subject to occasional call or was occasionally called upon to perform duties within the scope of active law enforcement or active fire suppression and prevention.
(4)He or she 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.
(b)Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a person who qualifies for the waiver of mandatory systemwide fees and tuition and mandatory campus-based fees under this section as a surviving child of a contractor, or of an employee of a contractor, who performed services for a public agency shall, in addition to the requirements set forth in subdivision (a), meet both of the following requirements:
(1)Enrollment as an undergraduate student at a campus of the University of California or the California State University.
(2)Documentation that his or her annual income, including the value of any support received from a parent, does not exceed the maximum household income and asset level for an applicant for a Cal Grant B award, as set forth in Section 69432.7.
(c)As used in this section:
(1)Contractor or employee of a contractor does not include a security guard or security officer, as defined in Section 7582.1 of the Business and Professions Code.
(2)Public agency means the state or any city, city and county, county, district, or other local authority or public body of or within the state.
(3)Surviving child means either of the following:
(A)A surviving natural or adopted child of the deceased person.
(B)A surviving stepchild who meets both of the following requirements:
(i)He or she was living or domiciled with the deceased person at the time of his or her death.
(ii)He or she was claimed on the tax form most recently filed by the deceased person prior to that persons death, or he or she received 50 percent or more of his or her support from that deceased person in the tax year immediately preceding the death of the deceased person, or both.
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Date
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Status
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|---|---|
| Feb 17, 2016 | Read first time. To print. |
| Feb 18, 2016 | From printer. May be heard in committee March 19. |
| Feb 29, 2016 | Referred to Com. on HIGHER ED. |
| Apr 12, 2016 | In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. |
This list shows positions taken on this bill by organizations on the date displayed, which is linked to the original source.
Positions by individuals are not included.
Date of Hearing: April 12, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Jose Medina, Chair
ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2166 (
Author:Cooper) – As Introduced Ver:February 17, 2016
SUBJECT: Public postsecondary education: waiver of mandatory campus-based fees.
SUMMARY: Requires the University of California (UC) Regents, the Board of Directors of the Hastings College of Law, the California State University (CSU) Trustees, or any campus of the UC or CSU to excuse any mandatory campus-based fees for eligible survivors, as specified, of a firefighter or law enforcement officer, who 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 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.
EXISTING LAW:
- Provides that no mandatory systemwide fees be required by the UC Regents, the Board of Directors of Hastings College of Law, or CSU Trustees, from any surviving spouse or child, of a deceased person, who met all of the following requirements:
- He or she was a resident of this state;
- He or she was employed by a public agency, or was a contractor, or an employee of a contractor, performing services for a public agency;
- His or her principal duties consisted of active law enforcement service or active fire suppression and prevention; and,
- He or she 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 (EC) Section 68120).
- Requires that any determination of eligibility, as specified, shall 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).
- 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 that manifest during the time of active employment and up to 10 years after being employed as a work-related illness (Labor Code (LAB) Section 3212.1);
- Tuberculosis that manifests during the time of active employment and up to six year after being employed as a presumed work-related illness (LAB Section 3212.6); and,
- Blood-born infectious diseases or specified skin infections that manifest during the time of active employment and up to six years after being employed as a presumed work-related illness (LAB Section 3212.8).
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: Background. The Alan Pattee Scholarship Act of 1970 was created in order to assist surviving family members of firefighters and law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty. The Act waives all mandatory tuition and fees at the public postsecondary institutions of learning for these survivors.
Purpose of this measure. According to the author, "There is ambiguity in the law [The Alan Pattee Scholarship Act] inasmuch as the statute exempts surviving relatives from systemwide tuition and fees, but leaves these individuals subject to mandatory campus wide fees levied by an individual campus."
The author contends that this measure will clarify that eligible survivors of law enforcement and fire fighters killed in the line of duty are exempt from paying campus-wide fees when attending a UC or CSU campus.
How many have fallen? According to information provided by the author, from 2010 – 2015, 54 peace officers and 90 firefighters were killed in the line of duty. The author assumes if each of the fallen has a college-aged child attending a UC or CSU, it would yield 24 new students per year.
Related legislation. AB 2164 (O'Donnell), which will be heard in this Committee today, is similar in nature to this measure.
Committee consideration. As stated above, AB 2164 is similar in nature to this measure; however, AB 2164 seeks to correct necessary changes to in order to align the Act with current workers' compensation and other labor laws.
The Committee may wish to consider if it is prudent to pass out two bills similar in nature, instead of one comprehensive measure; and, encourage the authors of both measures to jointly author the more comprehensive measure.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Association of Highway Patrolmen
California Correctional Peace Officers Association
California Police Chiefs Association
California State Sheriffs' Association (Sponsor)
Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by: Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960
Bill Author
Bill Co-Author(s):