With the legislature gone until August 17th, the CSU is looking ahead to the last month of session where we still face several key measures that will impact our university. A good number of these bills will be heard the first week they come back as they will move through their last committee and house before heading to the Governor’s desk. The CSU will continue to meet with legislators and committee members on these measures. The following bills continue to be a high priority for the university:

CSU Sponsored Legislation:
AB 867 (Nava/Arambula) Doctorate in Nursing: Would authorize the California State University to award the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. The bill is designed to enable professionals to earn the degree while working full time, train nurses for advanced practice, and prepare clinical faculty to teach in postsecondary nursing programs. This bill contains other related provisions.
Status: The bill has moved through the Assembly, passed on a unanimous vote in the Senate Education committee and will be heard next in the Senate Appropriations committee on August 17th.

AB 1222 (Lowenthal) Alumni Affinity Sunset Extension: Would ensure that California public institutions are able to continue their efforts to increase non-state resources for programs and student scholarships through services to recent graduates and alumni association members known as affinity programs. Recent amendments would require the opt-out form be provided to alumni through a link on the homepage of the Internet Web site of the alumni association or in the alumni association's privacy policy. The measure extends the current sunset of January 2011 to January 2016.
Status: The bill has passed the Senate Education and Senate Appropriations committees on consent and is currently awaiting action by the full Senate.

CSU Priority Bills
AB 20 (Solorio) California State University and University of California: contracts: Would require the Department of General Services, to negotiate and establish a model contract with standard contract provisions with both the regents and the trustees by July 1, 2010. The trustees would be required to, and the regents would be urged to, negotiate and establish with the Department of General Services the model contract applicable to their university by July 1, 2010. The bill would define the term contract to mean a research, training, or service agreement between the state and the UC or CSU, or a grant from the state to the UC or CSU for research, training, or service. This bill contains other related provisions.
CSU Position: Support
Status: The bill has passed the Senate Appropriations committee on consent and is currently awaiting action by the full Senate.

AB 24 (Block) CSU Feasibility Study: Chula Vista: This bill would require the Chancellor of the California State University, by July 1, 2011, to complete and submit to the trustees a study about the feasibility of a California State University satellite program, and ultimately, an independent California State University campus, at Chula Vista. If the trustees decide that a new campus or off-campus center is needed at Chula Vista, the trustees would be required to submit a formal needs study to the California Postsecondary Education Commission.
CSU Position: No Official Position
Status: The bill passed the Senate Education committee and is headed to the Senate Appropriations committee.

AB 37 (Furutani) Public Postsecondary Education: Honorary Degree: This bill would require the Trustees of the California State University and the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, and would request the Regents of the University of California, to work with their respective colleges and universities to confer an honorary degree upon each person, living or deceased, who was forced to leave his or her postsecondary studies as a result of federal Executive Order 9066 which caused the incarceration of individuals of Japanese ancestry during World War II.
CSU Position: No Official Position
Status: The bill has passed the Senate Education and Senate Appropriations committees on consent and is currently awaiting action by the full Senate.

AB 656 (Torrico) California Higher Education Endowment Corporation: Oil and Gas Severance Tax: This measure would go in effect after January 1, 2010 and would establish the California Higher Education Endowment Corporation (CHEEC) to oversee the use of funds from a new oil and gas severance tax upon any producer for the privilege of severing oil or gas from the earth or water in this state for sale, transport, consumption, storage, profit, or use. The revenues generated by the tax would be distributed to the three segments by the corporate board rather than the state budget process.
CSU Position: No Official Position
Status: The bill passed the Assembly Higher Education committee and will be heard next in the Assembly Revenue and Taxation committee.

AB 690 (Ammiano) CSU Trustees and UC Regents: meetings: Would authorize each ex officio trustee, except the Chancellor, to designate a person, as prescribed, to attend a meeting or meetings of the trustees in his or her absence. The bill would prohibit an ex officio trustee from designating more than one person to attend meetings of the trustees in any calendar year. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.
CSU Position: Oppose
Status: The bill passed the Senate Education committee and is currently awaiting action by the full Senate.

AB 1393 (Skinner) Foster Youth: This bill would request community college campuses and the CSU to give priority for housing to current and former foster youth. The bill would also request both systems maintain student housing facilities open for occupation during school breaks, or on a year-round basis, to give first priority to current and former foster youth for residence in the housing facilities that are open for uninterrupted year-round occupation, and next give priority to current and former foster youth for housing that is open for occupation during the most days in the calendar year.
CSU Position: Support
Status: The bill has passed the Senate Appropriations committee and is currently awaiting action by the full Senate.

SB 147 (DeSaulnier) CSU: 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 career technical education (CTE) courses, based on model curriculum standards adopted by our Academic Senate last year. Additionally it will require the CSU to duplicate the approval process at the University of California for the CSU-only “g” general elective category, thus mandating new costs on the CSU to develop new CTE standards that would meet requirements for admission. CSU estimates these costs to be over $450,000 for initial development and approximately $230,000 thereafter to review and approve courses annually.
CSU Position: Oppose
Status: The bill passed out of the Assembly Higher Education and will be heard next in the Assembly Appropriations committee.

SB 217 (Yee) Public postsecondary education: executive officer compensation: Would prohibit the trustees and request UC Regents from increasing the monetary compensation, as defined, or approving a monetary bonus for, any employee not part of a union of the California State University in any fiscal year in which the General Fund appropriation 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
Status: The bill passed out of the Assembly Higher Education and will be heard next in the Assembly Appropriations committee on August 19th.

SB 218 (Yee) Public records: state agency: auxiliary organizations: Would revamp the California Public Records Act by redefining what entities would be required to make their records available for public inspection. Specifically, this measure would include CSU and UC auxiliaries that serve as philanthropic entities and/or manage grants and contracts.
CSU Position: Oppose
Status: The measure passed the Assembly Government Organization committee and will be heard in the Assembly Appropriations committee on August 19th.

SB 261 (Dutton) Water Use: Water Management Plans: This bill designates the CSU system as the lead entity for the collection and management of statewide water use data, using its Water Resources Policy Initiative (WRP), as part of a state goal established by the Governor which calls for a reduction in per capita water use of 20 percent by the year 2020.
CSU Position: Support
Status: The measure passed the Assembly Water, Parks & Wildlife committee and will be heard in the Assembly Appropriations committee.