As the end of May approaches a number of key legislative measures are still in the possession of the Appropriations Committees of both houses. Also a few of the measures that the CSU is currently tracking are on the floor of their house of origin awaiting further action. Below is a summary of the key bills still in the Appropriations Committee. The committee will conduct its suspense calendar this Thursday and also those bills that are on the floor.

Appropriations Committee

AB 24 (Block) California State University: feasibility study: Chula Vista.
This proposal would require the Trustees of the CSU to conduct a study by January 1, 2011 on the feasibility of a CSU satellite program, and ultimately, an independent CSU campus, at Chula Vista.

CSU Position: No official position

AB 53 (Portantino) State employment: salary freeze.
This measure would prohibit any state employee, including employees of the CSU, who earn more than $150,000 to receive a salary increase, overtime pay, until January 1, 2012. The measure does exclude Constitutional officers, employees covered by a memorandum of understanding (unions), and any person who has been exempted by executive order of the Governor. Mr. Portantino has an almost identical measure in the Assembly second extraordinary session as well, ABX2 1.

CSU Position: Oppose

AB 867 (Nava) California State University: Doctor of Nursing Practice degree.
This proposal allows the CSU to offer the Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree so that it may have the faculty it needs to prepare the nurses California is in dire need of.

CSU Position: Support (sponsored legislation)

SB 128 (Padilla) California Climate Change Institute.
This proposal would create the California Climate Change Institute which would manage research and development programs in order for California to achieve the states targets for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and mitigating the effects of those emissions. This body would identify and support, through a merit-based peer-reviewed competitive grant process, research and education to be undertaken at academic and research institutions and laboratories throughout the state.

CSU Position: Support

SB 147 (DeSaulnier) California State University: career technical education courses.
This bill would bifurcate the current standards for admission to CSU and UC by requiring CSU to adopt its own standards for admission in regard to CTE courses, based on model curriculum standards adopted by the State Board of Education.

CSU Position: Oppose

SB 160 (Cedillo) Student financial aid: institutional financial aid eligibility.
This measure would allow those non-resident students who do not pay the out-of-state fee per the provisions established by AB 540 to also receive institutional aid, like the CSU’s State University Grant.

CSU Position: Support

SB 195 (Florez) Equity in Higher Education Act.
This measure would require a postsecondary educational institution to provide assurance that each program and activity conducted by the institution will be conducted in compliance with applicable provisions of federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex. This assurance must be signed by specified officers of the institution (Chancellor at the CSU) and would apply to all programs and activities, including academic and athletic programs. "Knowingly" providing a false declaration on the assurance would be punishable by a civil penalty of $50,000. It would also allow any interested party to take action, and the system anticipates an endless supply of claims being made against it. The CSU assumes a cost to the system more than $150,000 to defend itself. If the system lost, then it would be required to pay the $50,000 civil penalty.

CSU Position: Oppose

SB 646 (Denham) Student financial aid: veterans and dependents.
This bill would enact the Golden State GI Bill of Rights for Higher Education. It would prohibit the CSU, CCC and UC from charging any mandatory systemwide tuition or fees, including enrollment fees, registration fees, differential fees, or incidental fees, to a member of the Armed Forces of the United States who enlisted into the service when they were a California resident. The measure was amended to require that this would only take place in a year when the segments received funding for it in the annual budget.

CSU Position: Support if amended

SB 815 (Cogdill) Student financial aid program: California National Guard Education Assistance Award Program.
This measure would create the National Guard Education Assistance Award Program to provide financial support for qualifying active members of the California National Guard, the State Military Reserve, or the Naval Militia attending a qualifying postsecondary institution.

CSU Position: Support

AB 1222 (Lowenthal, Bonnie) California State University and University of California: alumni: disclosure.
This measure would extend the current sunset date which allows the CSU campuses to run their affinity programs. The current sunset date is January 1, 2011. This measure would extend it until January 1, 2016.

CSU Position: Support (sponsored legislation)

SB 217 (Yee) Public postsecondary education: executive officer compensation.
This bill would prohibit the trustees from increasing the monetary compensation, as defined, of, or approving a monetary bonus for, any executive officer, as defined, of the California State University in any fiscal year in which the General Fund appropriation to the California State University in the annual Budget Act is less than, or equal to, the General Fund appropriation to the university in the annual Budget Act for the immediately preceding fiscal year.

CSU Position: Oppose

SB 218 (Yee) Public records: state agency: nonprofit entity.
The proposal would make California Public Records Act apply to the CSU’s auxiliaries. The CSU believes that this will deny donors the right to be anonymous and that it would also require that third party proprietary and financial information, including public-private partnerships and enterprise operations be released.

CSU Position: Oppose unless amended