California A.B. 721 – State Financial Aid 

Sponsor: Assemblymember Jose Medina (D)

Summary: Current version (5/28/2015):  Requires a public, private or independent institution to make available to the public upon request and in a prominent location on its Internet Web site specified student loan debt statistics on graduates, to provide students information concerning unused federal student loan moneys available to them before certifying their eligibility for private student loans, and, if the institution does not participate in federal student loan programs, to inform students that they may be eligible for federal student loans at participating institutions and provide them information regarding Cal Grants and federal student aid.

Current version (5/28/2015):  http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/15-16/bill/asm/ab_0701-0750/ab_721_bill_20150528_amended_asm_v97.pdf 

Previous version (4/13/2015):  http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/15-16/bill/asm/ab_0701-0750/ab_721_bill_20150413_amended_asm_v98.pdf 

Introduced:  http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/15-16/bill/asm/ab_0701-0750/ab_721_bill_20150225_introduced.pdf 

Status: Introduced 2/25/2015. Referred to Assembly Committee on Higher Education 3/12/2015. Hearing held, reported; re-referred to Assembly Committee on Appropriations 4/7/2015. Amended 4/13/2015. Hearing held 4/29/2015.  Hearing held, amended, reported 5/28/2015.

Outlook: The Committee amended, recommended this measure for passage by a 17-0 vote and reported it to the full chamber for consideration. Per Joint Rule 61(a)(8), the chamber has until June 5 to act on this measure. The adopted amendment is technical in nature.

This measure was withdrawn by the sponsor, amended and re-referred to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations. The author’s amendment allows independent institutions to only provide debt statistics upon request.

After allowing for public testimony, the Assembly Committee on Higher Education recommended this measure for passage unanimously. This measure will next be referred to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations for consideration. As this measure contains fiscal provisions it must be approved by the Appropriations Committee before it may be considered by the full chamber.

The sponsor is a member of the majority party and has yet to garner the cosponsorship of any other member of the chamber. By rule, this measure cannot be heard in committee until 30 days have passed since its introduction. The Democratic Party controls both chambers of the Legislature as well as the Office of the Governor.

Effective Date: January 1, 2016

*Information provided by www.stateside.com