Bill Text: CA AB1504 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 1504 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Community colleges: student representation fee: statewide community college student organization: goals.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-10-04 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 523, Statutes of 2019. [AB1504 Detail]

Download: California-2019-AB1504-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly March 19, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1504

Introduced by Assembly Member Medina

February 22, 2019

An act to amend Section 76060.5 of the Education Code, relating to community colleges.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1504, as amended, Medina. Community colleges: student representation fee: statewide community college student organization: goals.

Existing law authorizes the governing body of a student body association to order an election be held to establish a student representation fee of $2 per semester, collected by officials of the community college at or before registration, and requires an affirmative vote of a majority of the students voting in the election to establish the fee. Existing law authorizes a student to refuse to pay the fee pursuant to a specified procedure and specifies another procedure for an election to terminate the student representation fee for a community college. For a student representation fee adopted on or after January 1, 2014, existing law requires $1 of the $2 fee to be expended to establish and support the operations of a statewide community college student organization. Existing law specifies ~~the~~ underlying goals required of the statewide community college student organization.

This bill would require the officials at a community college, if a student body association has been established at the college, to collect a student representation fee of $2 at the time of registration, and would eliminate the authorization for a student election to terminate the fee. This bill would require that $1 of the $2 fee be expended to establish and support the operation of a statewide community college organization for all student representation fees collected, rather than only for those fees adopted on or after January 1, 2014. By imposing additional duties on community college districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would add supporting student participation and engagement in statewide higher education policy and advocacy activities to the required goals of the statewide community college student ~~organization for fee adopted after January 1, 2014.~~ organization.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NOYES Local Program: NOYES

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 76060.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:

76060.5.

(a) If a student body association has been established at a community college as authorized by Section 76060, the governing body of the association may order that an election be held for the purpose of establishing a student representation fee of two dollars ($2) per semester. The election shall be held in compliance with regulations of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges and shall be open to all regularly enrolled students of the community college. The affirmative vote of a majority of the students voting in the election shall be sufficient to establish the fee. However, the election shall not be sufficient to establish the fee unless the number of students who vote in the election equals or exceeds the average of the number of students who voted in the previous three student body association elections.

~~(b)The student representation fee authorized by this section~~ a student representation fee of two dollars ($2) shall be collected by the officials of the community college, together with all other fees, at the time of registration or before registration and shall be deposited in a separate fiduciary fund established per the California Community Colleges Budget and Accounting Manual for student representation fees. The money collected pursuant to this section shall be expended to provide support for governmental affairs representatives of local or statewide student body organizations who may be stating their positions and viewpoints before city, county, and district governments, and before offices and agencies of state government.

~~(c)~~

(b) (1) One dollar ($1) of every two-dollar ($2) fee collected shall be expended to establish and support the operations of a statewide community college student organization, recognized by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, with effective student representation and participation in state-level community college shared governance and with governmental affairs representatives to advocate before the Legislature and other state and local governmental entities. ~~This subdivision shall only apply to student representation fees adopted on or after January 1, 2014.~~

(2) The underlying goals of a statewide community college student organization shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

(A) Establishing a sustainable foundation for statewide community college student representation and advocacy.

(B) Promoting institutional and organizational memory.

(D) Strengthening regional approaches for community college student representation and coordination.

(E) Promoting and enhancing student opportunities for engagement in community college student issues and affairs.

(F) Providing for open and public transparency and accountability.

(G) Supporting student participation and engagement in statewide higher education policy and advocacy activities.

~~(d)~~

(c) Fees collected pursuant to subdivision ~~(c)~~ (b) shall be annually distributed to the Board of Governors before February 1. The Board of Governors shall have custody of the moneys and shall, each year by April 15, distribute the moneys to the recognized statewide community college student organization if the recognized statewide community college student organization satisfies all of the following:

(1) Is established as a legal entity registered with the Secretary of State.

(2) Demonstrates compliance with all applicable state and federal laws and reporting requirements.

(3) Exercises prudent fiscal management by establishing generally accepted accounting controls and procedures.

(4) (A) Commencing after the first year it receives funding pursuant to this subdivision, completes an annual independent financial audit, the results of which shall be annually provided to the Board of Governors for review.

(B) (i) Except as provided in clause (ii) and after the first year funding is received, it shall be a condition for funding pursuant to this subdivision that the results of the annual audit identify no significant audit findings.

(ii) In no event shall funds be withheld from the statewide community college student organization unless the statewide community college student organization fails to address and correct any identified exceptions, concerns, errors, or deficiencies contained in the annual audit after being given a reasonable opportunity to do so.

(5) Meets the obligations and addresses the goals described in subdivision ~~(c).~~ (b).

~~(e)~~

(d) Meetings of the recognized statewide community college student organization shall be open to the public and shall comply with the requirements of the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code) and the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code).

(f)Notwithstanding subdivision (c), a student body association that adopted a student representation fee before January 1, 2014, shall retain the authority to continue to receive the one-dollar ($1) fee as authorized pursuant to this section as it read before January 1, 2014. The student body association may conduct an election pursuant to subdivision (a) to adopt a revised student representation fee. If an election conducted pursuant to subdivision (a) establishes the revised student representation fee, then one dollar ($1) of every two-dollar ($2) fee collected shall be expended as described in subdivision (c).
~~(g)~~

(e) (1) The chief fiscal officer of the community college shall have custody of the money collected pursuant to this section, except as provided in subdivision ~~(d),~~ (c), and the money shall be disbursed for the purposes described in subdivision ~~(b)~~ (a) upon the order of the governing body of the student body association.

(2) The community college district shall annually prepare a summary of all revenue collected from the student representation fee and the expenditures of the proceeds of the student representation fee. The summary shall include the amount distributed to the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges each year. The summary shall be presented at the community college district board meeting each year and posted to the community college district ~~Internet Web site.~~ internet website.

(3) The community college district may retain a portion of the fees collected and deposited pursuant to this section that is equal to the actual cost of administering these fees up to, but not more than, 7 percent.

(h)The student representation fee authorized by this section may be terminated by a majority vote of the students voting in an election held for that purpose. The election shall be called and held in compliance with regulations of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges and shall be open to all regularly enrolled students of the community college.
~~(i)~~

(f) A student may, for religious, political, financial, or moral reasons, refuse to pay the student representation fee established under this section. The refusal shall be submitted in writing to the community college officials at the time the student pays other fees collected by the community college officials. The refusal shall be submitted on the same form that is used for collection of fees as provided by the community college, which, as determined by the community college, shall be as nearly as practical in the same form as a model form prescribed by regulations of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges.

~~(j)~~

(g) Any costs incurred by the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to implement subdivisions ~~(c)~~ (b) and ~~(d)~~ (c) shall be reimbursed by the statewide community college student organization.

~~(k)~~

(h) If no statewide community college student organization that qualifies for funding in accordance with this section is recognized by the Board of Governors, the funds collected pursuant to this section shall be held by the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges until a qualifying statewide community college student organization is recognized, or shall be returned to the source of funds.

SEC. 2.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.