(SACRAMENTO, CA)—Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield (D-San Fernando Valley), Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, joined Speaker John A. Perez (D-Los Angeles) in introducing legislation today that would reduce state college and university costs for families by 2/3 and pay for it by closing a tax loophole benefitting out of state corporations.

“Costs are skyrocketing at our state colleges and universities,” said Blumenfield.  “As costs go up, the dream of a college education forces many students to take on crippling debt or give up on their education altogether.  We must invest in the success of our students and preserve the long term prosperity of California’s middle class.”

Assembly Bill (AB) 1500 closes a tax loophole benefitting out of state corporations called the elective single sales factor and deposits nearly $1 billion in subsequent revenues into the Middle Class Scholarship Fund.  AB 1501 creates the Middle Class Scholarship, which will cover 2/3 of the cost of CSU and UC student fees.  The Fund will also appropriate money to help reduce costs at our community colleges.  If enacted, the legislation would begin providing a new lifeline of financial aid for the 2012-1013 school year.

Under the proposed Middle Class Scholarship program, students attending a state college or university will fill out the standard financial aid forms.  All students with family incomes less than $150,000 that do not already have fees covered will receive a Middle Class Scholarship that slashes fees by 2/3.  Under the program:

• 150,000 CSU students would receive scholarships resulting in over $4,000 in savings per year
• 42,000 UC students would receive scholarships and save up to $8,169 per year
• Community colleges will receive $150 million to expand affordability efforts, which would be administered locally to potentially cover reduced fees, fee waivers, and the provision of grants for textbooks or other student expenses.

Since the 2003-2004 school year, student fees have increased 191% at our state colleges and 145% at our state universities.  Community college fees have also increased.  This effort will require a 2/3 vote of the Legislature, which means some Republican legislators will have to join Democrats in supporting the plan.

Further information is available at http://www.middleclassscholarship.com.

Contact: Anthony Matthews, tel. (916) 319-2040