Bill Text: CA SB647 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: California National Guard Education Assistance Award
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-02-01 - Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [SB647 Detail]
Download: California-2009-SB647-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 647 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 13, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Senator Denham
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to add Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 1007) to
Division 4 of the Military and Veterans Code, relating to veterans.
An act to add and repeal Article 20.7 (commencing with
Section 69999.10) of Chapter 2 of Part 42 of Division 5 of Title 3
of the Education Code, relating to postsecondary education.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 647, as amended, Denham. Military and Veterans
Education Assistance Award Program. California
National Guard Education Assistance Award Program.
Existing law establishes various award programs under the
administration of the Student Aid Commission, and establishes
eligibility requirements for the receipt of awards under those
programs for participating students attending qualifying
institutions.
This bill, until January 1, 2016, would establish the California
National Guard Education Assistance Award Program on behalf of
qualifying members of the California National Guard, the State
Military Reserve, and the Naval Militia under the administration of
the commission. The commission would be required to report annually
to the Legislature regarding program participation. The bill would
require the Legislative Analyst, on or before January 1, 2014, to
prepare and submit to the Legislature a report on the program.
Existing law provides certain benefits for qualifying veterans.
This bill would establish the Military and Veterans Education
Assistance Award Program on behalf of qualifying members of the
United States Armed Forces, California National Guard, the State
Military Reserve, or the Naval Militia, under the shared
administration of the Military Department and the Student Aid
Commission. This bill, under the award program, would offer education
assistance benefits to qualifying students for approved programs of
education, as defined, for a specified amount of time.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Article 20.7 (commencing with Section
69999.10) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 42 of Division 5
of Title 3 of the Education Code , to read:
Article 20.7. California National Guard Education Assistance
Award Program
69999.10. This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the
California National Guard Education Assistance Award Program.
69999.12. There is hereby established the California National
Guard Education Assistance Award Program.
69999.14. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) The California National Guard exists to provide a military
organization in California with the capability to protect the lives
and property of the people of the state during periods of natural
disaster and civil disturbances, and to perform other functions
required by the Military and Veterans Code or as directed by the
Governor.
(2) The California National Guard performs an essential public
purpose in protecting the health, safety, and property of California'
s citizens and, in order to fulfill its objectives, it is necessary
for the California National Guard to have sufficient human resources
to deal with natural or human-caused disasters and emergencies.
(3) An educational assistance award program for members of the
California National Guard would enhance retention rates within the
California National Guard. Similar educational assistance programs
have been highly successful in other states and have resulted in
substantially higher retention rates.
(b) It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature that, in order
to fulfill the public program of maintaining required strength in
the California National Guard, an inducement be provided to members
of the California National Guard by making educational assistance
awards available to California National Guard members seeking to
improve themselves through higher education. It is the intent of the
Legislature that these assistance awards be available to California
National Guard members who serve the state faithfully.
69999.16. (a) Commencing with the 2010-11 academic year, and each
academic year thereafter, any qualifying member of the California
National Guard, the State Military Reserve, or the Naval Militia may
apply for a California National Guard Education Assistance Award.
(b) A qualifying member shall meet all of the following conditions
to be eligible to receive a California National Guard Education
Assistance Award:
(1) The person is a resident within the meaning of Section 68017.
(2) The person is member of, and has served two or more years in,
the California National Guard, the State Military Reserve, or the
Naval Militia.
(3) The person has been accepted or registered at, or enrolled in,
a qualifying institution, as defined in subdivision (l) of Section
69432.7.
(4) The person agrees to use the award to obtain a certificate,
degree, or diploma that he or she does not hold at the time the
person applies for the award.
(c) Each person applying for a California National Guard Education
Assistance Award shall submit an application for an award to the
Adjutant General. The application form shall be the Free Application
for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form.
(d) The Adjutant General shall do both of the following:
(1) Review the applications for awards and certify the eligibility
of the qualifying members to the Student Aid Commission.
(2) Select award recipients from among eligible applicants.
(e) The number of awards issued in any one year shall be limited
to the number approved by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act.
(f) The Student Aid Commission shall issue the awards in
accordance with Section 69999.18.
69999.18. (a) The Student Aid Commission shall be responsible for
issuing awards, authorized by Section 69999.16, upon receipt of a
certificate from the Adjutant General verifying that the applicant
meets the eligibility requirements of this article, upon a
determination by the commission that the applicant has otherwise met
the requirements of this article, if funds are available for this
purpose.
(b) With the exception of any additional stipend given for books
and supplies, the amount of the award shall be equivalent to the
total of (1) the amount the recipient would otherwise be eligible to
receive for a Cal Grant A entitlement award and (2) the annual amount
of a Cal Grant B entitlement award authorized to be used for access
costs, as adjusted in the annual Budget Act.
(c) California National Guard Education Assistance Awards may be
renewed for each new academic year, for a maximum of five years of
full-time equivalent enrollment, if the Adjutant General certifies
the qualifying member's eligibility and the qualifying member is
making satisfactory academic progress at the qualifying institution.
69999.20. Qualifying members may not receive both a California
National Guard Education Assistance Award and any Cal Grant Award for
the same academic year. A qualifying member under this article who
is also eligible for any Cal Grant Award shall elect between an award
under this article and any Cal Grant Award for the same academic
year.
69999.22. (a) The Student Aid Commission shall administer this
article, and, in consultation with the Adjutant General and the
Military Department, shall adopt rules and regulations for this
purpose. These rules and regulations shall include provisions that
establish priorities for allocating available money to applicants.
The initial regulations for the California National Guard Education
Assistance Award Program shall be adopted within one year of the date
of the initial appropriation funding the program. The Student Aid
Commission may solicit the advice of representatives from
postsecondary educational institutions regarding any proposed rules
and regulations.
(b) The Student Aid Commission may enter into contracts with a
public agency or a private entity to improve the processing and
distribution of awards through the use of electronic networks and
unified databases.
69999.24. The Student Aid Commission shall report annually to the
Legislature regarding program participation, including, but not
necessarily limited to, both of the following, as categorized on the
basis of age, ethnicity, and gender:
(a) The total number of participants in the program established by
this article.
(b) The number of participants who receive a California National
Guard Education Assistance Award, classified by academic year.
69999.26. The Legislative Analyst shall, on or before January 1,
2014, prepare and submit to the Legislature a report on the program
established in this article. The report may include recommendations
for modifying or extending this article.
69999.28. This article shall remain in effect only until January
1, 2016, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2016, deletes or extends
that date. All matter omitted in this version of the bill
appears in the bill as introduced in Senate, February 27, 2009 (JR11)
