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School Services of California, Inc.
Community College Update
October 1, 1996
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Governor Finally Takes Action on Community College Legislation

In recent days, the Governor has taken action on some of the many bills affecting California Community Colleges sent to him during the final days of the 1996 legislative session.

Of particular interest to community colleges was the signing of Senate Bill 1233 (Costa, D-Fresno) (Chapter 949, Statutes of 1996), which reappropriated $25.6 million that was vetoed by the Governor from the community college portion of the 1996-97 State Budget. The $25.6 million originally earmarked in the State Budget as program improvement funds, will now be allocated by the Chancellor's Office to local districts as growth funds to increase student access.

A surprise was the signing of Assembly Bill 3099 (Campbell, D-Martinez) (Chapter 943, Statutes of 1996). This legislation establishes for the purpose of providing a state incentive to encourage community college districts to offer health insurance for part-time faculty. The legislation is permissive on the part of local districts. The 1996-97 State Budget contained $500,000 as matching funds for local districts, but that amount was vetoed by the Governor. The 1997-98 budget change proposals submitted by the Board of Governors to the Department of Finance contains a request for $500,000 for this purpose in next year's state budget.

For faculty groups that supported this legislation, the third try was a "charm." Although the bill does not establish a mandate, it will certaintly increase issues on the table for collective bargaining purposes.

"Bills at a Glance" contained in this Update provides a status report on all legislation that has been tracked during the 1996 legislative session, and reflects the Governor's actions to date. The Governor has until September 30 to take final action on legislation. A comprehensive report of all legislation impacting California Community Colleges will be included in the next Update.

&emdash; Arnold Bray
[Posted 10/1/96]