Bill Text: CA ACR39 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Financial Aid and Literacy Month.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 51-26-1)
Status: (Passed) 2015-04-29 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Res. Chapter 34, Statutes of 2015. [ACR39 Detail]
Download: California-2015-ACR39-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: ACR 39 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
RESOLUTION CHAPTER 34
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE APRIL 29, 2015
ADOPTED IN SENATE APRIL 23, 2015
ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 6, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 6, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 17, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Dababneh
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen,
Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,
Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove,
Hadley, Harper, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey,
Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty,
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron,
Weber, Wilk, Williams, and Wood)
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
Relative to Financial Aid and Literacy Month.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 39, Dababneh. Financial Aid and Literacy Month.
This measure would declare the month of April 2015 as Financial
Aid and Literacy Month, with the theme of "Prosperity Through
Education," to raise public awareness about the continuing need for
increased financial literacy.
WHEREAS, The President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability
urges the integration of personal finance into the teaching of math
and English language arts common core academic content standards for
K-12 education as well as other subjects; and
WHEREAS, California law requires that financial education,
including budgeting, managing credit, student loans, consumer debt,
and identity theft security, is included in the next revision of the
social sciences, health, and mathematics curricula; and
WHEREAS, In Junior Achievement's 2014 Teens and Personal Finance
Survey, 77 percent of male teens and 63 percent of female teens 16 to
18 years of age said they do not keep track of their money; and
WHEREAS, Eighty-five percent of American parents believe that
financial education courses should be a requirement for high school
graduation and 52 percent of teenagers want to learn more about
budgeting, saving, and investing; and
WHEREAS, According to a poll by Northeastern University's
Innovation Imperative Initiative, more than 80 percent of students 16
to 19 years of age believe obtaining a college degree is important
to having a career, but 67 percent are worried they will not be able
to afford college; and
WHEREAS, In Sallie Mae's "How America Saves for College 2014," the
proportion of families saving for college declined during the
recession from 62 percent in 2009 to 50 percent in 2013; and
WHEREAS, The total average savings for higher education is
$15,346, which is up from $11,781 in 2014; and
WHEREAS, In 2014, student loan debt soared by more than 11
percent; and
WHEREAS, When it comes to where families put money, more parents
use a general savings account (45 percent in 2014, compared with 42
percent in 2013) than any other method of saving, ahead of a 529 plan
(29 percent in 2014, compared with 27 percent in 2013) and a
checking account (24 percent in 2014, compared with 27 percent in
2013); and
WHEREAS, Only 40 percent of adults keep a budget and track their
spending, 75 percent of American families say they live paycheck to
paycheck, and more than 25 percent of American families have no
savings at all; and
WHEREAS, Statistics compiled by LearnVest and Chase Blueprint show
that for Americans 45 to 54 years of age, the median saved for
retirement is only $101,000, and 38 percent of adults are concerned
about being able to retire on time; and
WHEREAS, Only 5 percent of adults say they were taught about money
by a teacher, and 40 percent would give themselves Cs, Ds, or Fs on
their grasp of personal finance concepts; and
WHEREAS, Twenty-five percent of adults do not think any amount of
debt is manageable, and 45 percent said that they could only handle
debt payments of $100 a month; and
WHEREAS, Nearly 67 percent of adults are concerned about being
able to get a job, 60 percent expressed concern about having enough
money as adults, and nearly 33 percent said college costs are "not
worth it" and that the "costs will outweigh the benefits"; and
WHEREAS, According to the Federal Reserve, the total United States
outstanding consumer debt, including car and student loans as well
as revolving debt, was $3.24 trillion as of July 2014; and
WHEREAS, Collectively, American consumers owe $11.52 trillion to
lenders and creditors and the debt burden is continuing to increase;
and
WHEREAS, According to CreditCards.com, the average credit card
debt per American adult, excluding zero-balance cards and store
cards, is $4,878.43; and
WHEREAS, The average interest rate paid on credit card balances is
over 13 percent annual percentage rate (APR); and
WHEREAS, Children as young as five years old have shown an
increase in depression and anxiety stemming from their parents'
unemployment and financial problems; and
WHEREAS, Children whose families endured financial hardships
during the children's adolescence became parents earlier than their
peers and also treated their children more harshly; and
WHEREAS, According to T. Rowe Price's 2014 Parents, Kids & Money
Survey, 69 percent of parents are "very/extremely" concerned about
setting a good financial example for their kids, but 74 percent admit
they are reluctant to approach the topic because they do not want
their kids to worry; and
WHEREAS, The State of California established the Bank on
California Program to raise awareness among unbanked consumers about
the benefits of account ownership and to spur Californians to open
accounts; and
WHEREAS, The Bank on California Program makes quality money
management education more easily available to low-income Californians
and raises statewide awareness of the unbanked problem and potential
solutions; and
WHEREAS, An estimated 7.8 percent of Californians are unbanked and
an additional 18 percent are considered underbanked; and
WHEREAS, The average unbanked Californian pays $1,000 a year to
cash paychecks; and
WHEREAS, Californians with bank accounts are more likely to save,
have higher credit scores, and get better-priced car and home loans;
and
WHEREAS, Many employers, government agencies, schools, service
groups, community organizations, libraries, financial institutions,
and nonprofit entities, including, but not limited to, FDIC: Money
Smart, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Office of Financial
Empowerment, the California Jump$tart Coalition, the CalCPA
Financial Literacy Committee, the New America Foundation, SparkPoint
Centers, America Saves, the United Way Financial Literacy Program,
Junior Achievement Finance Park, and the Girl Scouts of America, have
created programs to help people improve their financial literacy
skills; and
WHEREAS, Resolutions similar to this resolution have been
introduced and passed with strong bipartisan support to increase
awareness of the need for financial literacy for California citizens;
now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby declares the month of
April 2015 as Financial Aid and Literacy Month, with the theme of
"Prosperity Through Education," to raise public awareness about the
continuing need for increased financial literacy; and be it further
Resolved, That legislators, employers, government agencies,
schools, service groups, community organizations, libraries,
financial institutions, and other nonprofit entities should be
encouraged to provide all Californians with the opportunity to obtain
or improve their financial literacy skills; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
