May, 2022

In this Issue:

  • League Responds to Governor’s May Revision
  • Senate Education Committee to Hear Critical Legislation
  • Suspense File Results
  • League Advocacy Prioritizes Local Governance and Flexibility
  • Join Us for our Next GR Webinar: Tuesday, June 21
  • Federal Grant Opportunities

League Responds to Governor’s May Revision

The Governor’s May Revision to the January Budget proposes unprecedented funding for the California Community Colleges. Click here for the League-cosponsored Joint Analysis of the Budget.

Highlights of the increased $1.3 billion in ongoing spending and $2.9 billion in one-time funds include:

  1. Increased COLA from 5.33% to 6.56% ($83.6 billion)
  2. Increased Growth over January budget by $1.3 million
  3. Increase to the Student Centered Funding Formula (SCFF) Base Allocation by $250 million
  4. Increase to the SCFF Basic Allocation by $125 million
  5. Increase to Student Equity and Achievement Program (SEAP) of 5% ($25 million)
  6. Align apprenticeship Related and Supplemental Instruction (RSI) rate to the SCFF credit rate rather than the noncredit rate ($16.9 million)
  7. Increased one-time deferred maintenance over January budget by $1 billion
  8. Discretionary one-time block grant of $750 million to address pension obligations and other locally-determined needs

The League is extremely grateful to the Administration for its demonstrated support of the California Community Colleges, particularly for its willingness to prioritize locally-determined spending, and has communicated the following positions to the Legislature as it concludes its work on the 2022-23 Budget Act:

  1. Support increased funding for COLA, Growth, and SEAP, among others.
  2. Increase allocations to the SCFF Base and Basic Allocations from a combined total of $375 million to $700 million, consistent with the California Senate’s budget proposal released prior to the May Revision. The League supports the Governor’s distribution formula of two-thirds for Base Allocation and one-third for Basic Allocation.
  3. Support the discretionary block grant of $750 million while continuing to seek a dedicated funding stream of $3.5 billion in non-Proposition 98 General Fund on behalf of community college districts and K-12 Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to address pension obligations for CalSTRS and the CalPERS Schools Pool. An estimated $1.2 billion of this amount would sustain the employer contribution rates in the short-term, while the remaining $2.3 billion would reduce employers’ long-term unfunded liability for both pension systems.
  4. Although officially neutral on the Administration’s proposal for a $200 million ongoing increase to the Part-Time Faculty Health Benefits program, the League recommends adopting Trailer Bill Language to eliminate the district match requirement for this program. Further, the League urges adoption of Budget Bill Language to allow unspent funds in this line-item to be used in respective priority order of Part-Time Faculty Office Hours and Part-Time Faculty Compensation programs.
  5. Support non-Proposition 98 funding for the financial aid reforms in League-supported AB 1746 (Medina and McCarty).
  6. Support funding for all approved shovel-ready student housing projects.

The Legislature must approve the state budget by June 15th, and it must be signed by the Governor by June 30th for it to take effect by the next fiscal year on July 1, 2022. Please contact your legislators to express appreciation for the May Revision and support for the League’s priorities.


Senate Education Committee to Hear Critical Legislation

On Wednesday, June 1, at 9:00 a.m. the Senate Education Committee will hold a hearing to consider Assembly bills referred to them, including AB 1505 (Rodriguez), legislation that will artificially increase the required amount of faculty that colleges must hire. While faculty are critical to the operations of every college, hiring additional faculty must be balanced against the needs of current faculty, our students, and the community.

AB 1505 (Rodriguez) directs the Chancellor’s Office to adjust how the Faculty Obligation Number is calculated, using the number employed in Fall 2022. The bill was amended earlier this year without discussion with college stakeholders and will make it more difficult for colleges to adjust to future needs and priorities. 

Without funding provided to support the costs mandated by this bill, colleges will face hard choices in the future. To comply with this bill, a college may need to consider cutting programs that lead to student success and equity, reductions in salary for current staff or other items.  Additionally, this bill creates an artificial minimum number of full-time faculty a college must hire regardless of enrollment level or changes in education practices related to the pandemic.

For those reasons, the League and numerous districts have taken an opposed position to this bill. If you are interested in testifying against this bill either in person or telephone, please see the below information. If you have any questions about the bill or how to participate, please contact Ryan McElhinney at ryan@ccleague.org or at (916) 245-5039.

Teleconference Instructions from the Senate Education Committee on how to virtually testify: 

Due to the statewide stay-at-home order and guidance on physical distancing, seating at committee hearings will be very limited for press and the public. All are encouraged to watch the live stream of the hearing on the Senate’s website at https://www.senate.ca.gov/

We encourage the public to submit written testimony before the hearing through the position letter portal. Please note that any written testimony submitted to the committee is considered public comment and may be read into the record or reprinted.

The Capitol will be open for attendance of committee hearings, but the public is strongly encouraged to participate via the web portal or telephonically.

Information regarding a call-in option for testimony will be made available and updated the night prior to the hearing date.

Please note: In order for your testimony to be heard clearly, you must mute any devices you are using to live stream the committee hearing prior to calling into the teleconference service. Please do not testify using speakerphone or Bluetooth, this can cause acoustic feedback and make it very difficult to hear your testimony.

  • Upon calling in, you will be placed in a “waiting room” where you will be muted but you can listen to the committee hearing as you wait.
  • When a committee moves to public comment, a moderator will ask for anyone who is wishing to testify in “Support” of the bill to please press 1-0. The moderator will again prompt those waiting in “Opposition” when the committee moves to opposition.
  • You should press 1-0 when you are prompted by the moderator – be sure to listen for support or opposition and DO NOT press 1-0 until the proper position has been asked for.
  • When you press 1-0 on your phone, you will wait and an operator will assign you a line number, at that time you will be placed in the queue for identification. Remember your line number, the moderator will call out that number to identify YOU when it is your turn to testify. OF IMPORTANT NOTE: If you press 1-0 a second time, you will remove yourself from the queue and you will not be identified to testify. Every time you press 1-0 you either put yourself “In queue” or take yourself “Out of queue” so listen carefully, and press 1-0 only once when you are prompted by the moderator.
  • When you are successfully in the queue, with your assigned line number, the moderator will call out your line number, open your line, and at that time you may address the committee. You must have your own phone unmuted before you begin testimony.

A more detailed explanation of the teleconference instructions can be found by clicking the “Teleconference Instructions


Suspense File Results

On Friday, May 20th, the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Assembly Appropriations Committee met for their highly anticipated Suspense Hearings. The committees acted on roughly 1,000 bills placed on the “Suspense File” due to their costs to implement. Bills no longer moving forward in the legislative process were “Held” by the committee, while others were amended or passed as-is. Below is a list of League priority bills that were in the Suspense File:

AB 1705 (Irwin) Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act of 2012: matriculation: assessment.
Requires that high school transcript be used as the primary means for determining placement in transfer-level English and transfer-level mathematics courses and narrows the use of multiple measures by colleges in the placement and enrollment of students in transfer-level math and English courses.
League Position: Support if Amended
Suspense Result: Passed

AB 1752 (Santiago) Community Colleges: Part-Time Employees.
Requires community college districts to adopt compensation for part-time faculty of the same ratio to full-time faculty to create pay parity.
League Position: Oppose
Suspense Result: Held in Committee

AB 1746 (Medina) Student Financial Aid: Cal Grant Reform Act
Makes significant reforms to the Cal Grant Program, including phasing-out existing programs and creating the new Cal Grant 2 Program for CCC students and the Cal Grant 4 Program for UC and CSU students.
League Position: Support
Suspense Result: Passed

AB 1764 (Medina) Public Postsecondary Education: Student Housing: Survey
Requires CCCs, CSUs, and UCs to collect data on student housing insecurities at each campus and removes the requirement for student housing plans to be approved by the Division of the State Architect (DSA).
League Position: Support
Suspense Result: Passed with amendments to remove the DSA exemption in the bill.

AB 1719 (Ward) Housing: Community College Faculty and Employee Housing Act of 2022
Authorizes a community college district to establish and implement programs that address the affordable housing needs of faculty and employees, including access to financial benefits such as state low-income housing tax credits.
League Position: Support
Suspense Result: Passed

SB 885 (Laird) Community Colleges: Current and Former Foster Youth Support: NextUp
Eliminates the existing cap on the number of community college districts that may administer the NextUp program, which provides support services to current and former foster youth.
League Position: Support
Suspense Result: Passed

SB 1141 (Limón) Public Postsecondary Education: Exemption from Payment of Nonresident Tuition.
Expands AB-540 eligibility for the exemption from paying nonresident tuition by reducing the number of years required to qualify for the exemption, from three to two years, in full-time attendance or attainment of equivalent credits from California schools or a community college.
League Position: Support
Suspense Result: Passed

LEAGUE TRACKED BILLS WITH A “WATCH” POSITION:

AB 1919 (Holden) Youth Transit Pass Pilot Program: Free Youth Transit Passes: Eligibility for State Funding
Requires each transit agency to offer free transit passes to every person under the age of 26 years. Would require CCCs with free or reduced transit pass programs to maintain their 2018-2019 funding levels, regardless of the passage of this bill.
League Position: Watch
Suspense Result: Passed with amendments to establish an opt-in program instead of mandating all transit agencies to participate. Removes the provision relating to colleges maintaining their transit pass funding levels.

AB 2738 (Reyes) Public Postsecondary Education: Community Colleges: Matriculation: Assessment
Would provide a non-binding goal of completing an AA degree within two years for a student and implements various reporting measures for colleges, including requiring colleges to publish schedule of courses that must be completed to obtain an AA or certificate, the length of time needed to follow that schedule, and further reporting requirements.
League Position: Watch
Suspense Result: Passed

AB 1602 (McCarty) Student, Faculty, and Staff Housing: California Student Housing Revolving Loan Fund Act of 2022
Would appropriate $5 billion to create a revolving loan fund that would have zero interest loans for affordable student housing at the UC, CSU, and CCCs.  
League Position: Watch
Suspense Result: Passed

SB 886 (Wiener) California Environmental Quality Act: Exemption: Public Universities: University Housing Development Projects
Exempts, until January 1, 2030, faculty and staff housing projects and student housing projects meeting specified requirements from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
League Position: Watch
Suspense Result: Passed with amendments to clarify project requirements. 


League Advocacy Prioritizes Local Governance and Flexibility

The work of the board of governors shall at all times be directed to maintaining and continuing, to the maximum degree permissible, local authority and control in the administration of the California Community Colleges.

The above language is taken directly from the California Education Code § 70901, in the first paragraph defining the "duties; rules and regulations, delegation; [and] consultation" of the board of governors.

In the California Community Colleges’ bilateral governance structure, the language and intent of the definition and functions of the board of governors and its relationship to the locally-elected district boards is clear: maximization of local authority and control in the administration of the California Community Colleges. Local governance is essential, and it is obligatory.

Ideally, the natural tension among and between local districts and a statewide entity such as a board of governors and a state agency charged with leadership, compliance, technical assistance, and data-collection, results in quality higher education institutions benefitting students and communities.

As the independent, statewide membership association constituted by all 73 districts and 116 colleges and a professional staff, the League is committed to supporting and protecting local governance and control of member districts and colleges as codified in California Education Code. As hyper-local institutions, our colleges reflect the diversity and uniqueness of its students and communities, and locally-elected trustees emerge from the distinct circumstances and conditions of the communities and regions in which they live. This fosters greater understanding and local accountability, and it means our colleges are more responsive to the particular needs of area residents.

Currently, budget and policy negotiations continue, and the outcome remains uncertain. What is certain and abundantly clear, however, is that throughout the League's advocacy during this and every recent legislative session and interregnum, we are prioritizing and highlighting the need for much greater flexibility and local control of resources and operations.

In partnership and collaboration with all of you—the district and college leaders—the success of our advocacy is already evident in Governor Newsom's May Revision. It is demonstrable in:

  • the significant increase in SCFF base level funding ($375 million total),
  • the 6.56% COLA and parity with our K-12 partners,
  • the $750 million discretionary block grant offering considerable flexibility to address a variety of district needs,
  • and a much-needed $1.5 billion one-time investment in deferred maintenance.

Still, in addition to the need for strategic and vigorous advocacy throughout the remainder of this legislative session, maintenance and protection of local governance and control requires constant vigilance and defense. The League remains a proud partner with all of you in this continuous and indispensable work.


Join Us for our Next GR Webinar: Tuesday, June 21! Join the League's Government Relations Team for our monthly webinars. Receive important information regarding legislation and proposals discussed in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. that will impact you, your students, and your institution.

2022 Webinar Schedule
January to October: Every third Tuesday of the month, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Tuesday, June 21, 11:00 a.m.
Tuesday, July 19, 11:00 a.m.
Tuesday, August 16, 11:00 a.m.
Tuesday, September 20, 11:00 a.m.
Tuesday, October 18, 11:00 a.m.

Webinar Details
Telephone Number: (646) 876-9923 or (669) 900-6833
Meeting ID: 623 780 059
Password: 110660

Registration
Be sure to register in advance for this meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the webinar.


Federal Grant Opportunities

Presented by Downs Government Affairs

The League, in partnership with Downs Government Affairs, provides a list of federal grants to assist your community college in improving its programs and services.  For a full list of federal grants available to community colleges, visit our Federal Grants page at www.ccleague.org/federal-grant-opportunities.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Thomas Downs at TCDowns@downsgovaffairs.com.


Upcoming Events

LGBTQ+ Pride Month Webinar
June 1 | Zoom

Classified Leadership Institute
June 7-10 | Riverside

CEO Leadership Academy
June 24-26 | Riverside

Consultation Council
June 16 | Zoom

Board of Governors Meeting
July 25 | Zoom

Student Trustees Workshop
August 12-14 | San Francisco


For more information, contact the League's Government Relations and Communications staff: advocacy@ccleague.org

Follow League Tracked Bills at www.ccleague.org/advocacy/bill-tracking
For news related to the State Budget and Policy visit www.ccleague.org/advocacy

Empty