A bill that would have provided more than $122 million in aid to California undergraduates was stripped in the state Assembly, and now offers less than $2 million to students.
In its original form, the legislation, sponsored by Assemblyman Hector De la Torre (D-South Gate), would have altered the current Cal Grant program by widening the scope of students eligible for aid, providing more competitive grants and raising the age at which transfer students can receive aid. The age increase from 24 to 27 was the only provision not struck down by the fiscal committee.
“This was probably the biggest financial aid bill this year … it’s unfortunate [that it was amended] because that is the version we wanted to pass,” said Ambar Carlisle Salgueiro, a spokesperson for De La Torre.
Under the original version of Assembly Bill 2813, the number of competitive Cal Grants would have increased from 22,500 to 45,000, an improvement that still would not have covered the 117,000 students who applied and were eligible for the grants last year. Currently, Cal Grant B awards do not cover first-year expenses for students, though the award is based on financial need.
“I had a feeling [it wasn’t going to pass],” UCSD Financial Director Vincent De Anda said.“There are a lot of bills out there that are just not getting through because they are costing too much money.”
The increase in freshmen receiving Cal Grant B awards would have cost the state $77 million annually, and the doubling of competitive grants would have cost $49 million each year. The age increase is estimated to cost $1.6 million per year.
“We tried to amend it so that the Cal Grant B would be done over a four-year incremental period, to bring down the cost per year, but even that was too high, so it was reduced,” Salgueiro said.
The UC Students Association threw its support behind the bill, but was “upset” that the legislation was ultimately amended, according to UCSA President Anu Joshi.
“The scope of the bill has been limited,” Joshi said. “Less students are going to be able to afford higher education now because of the lack of Cal Grants.”
Despite the changes to the bill, the age eligibility increased for transfer students to receive aid is still a step in the right direction, De Anda said.
“I am for [the age increase], that almost follows the guidelines for independent students,” he said. “Transfers are older than most of the students here, so I think this will give a little more flexibility to the transfer students here.”
There is still a possibility that assemblymembers could reject the committee’s recommendations, and the bill could pass with at least the Cal Grant B provision before it heads to the state Senate, Salgueiro said.
“We are hoping that we have time to convince people that it is worth doing even though it does have a … pricetag,” Salgueiro said. “We haven’t given up hope on the Cal Grant B piece yet.”
