AFA Advocacy

April 29 , 2009 (follow up)-- SB 518 Parking Bill

Last week, I asked you to contact the Senate Transportation Committee about SB 518, which would have prohibited community colleges from spending any state funds on direct or indirect costs of parking. By doing so, the bill could have resulted in dramatically higher fees for employees and students alike.

Today, the Senate Education Committee heard the bill, and removed the provisions relating to community colleges. After negotiations by the League with the author's office and the committee staff, the bill will be amended to expand the authority for districts to provide our students the option to vote for a mandatory transit fee, an authority currently available at only three districts.

This compromise is a major step forward, and will build on the outstanding work of some of our districts who have negotiated with local transit agencies for reduced costs and increased service. It meets the author's goal of reducing the impact of single-occupancy automobiles traveling to our colleges, while recognizing that not all of our colleges have reasonable public transit offerings.

Thank you for your hard work on this bill. The community college voice can truly make a difference.

Scott Lay
President and Chief Executive Officer

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April 22 , 2009

Yesterday, the Capitol was flooded with calls of concern relating to SB 518 (Lowenthal), which, among other things, would prohibit community colleges from using any state funds for direct or indirect costs relating to parking (including security personnel, lighting, and access roads), with the goal that parking fees cover the entire cost. With the current cost of parking structures, that could increase community college parking fees for students and employees from around $100 to $1,100 per year.

The Senate Transportation Committee, which is chaired by the author, voted 6-4 to approve the bill, but re-referred it to the Senate Education Committee to discuss the effects on community colleges. Members of the committee clearly were pursuaded by the phone calls you made yesterday, and said that they were voting to move the bill along to meet legislative deadlines, but expected the bill to be amended to address the community college issue.

While the bill is a well-intentioned effort to reduce carbon emissions, it will disproportionately affect students who work, part-time faculty, and students and employees who have child care issues that require them to have a car accessible during the day.

The bill would further disproportionately impact community college students who, unlike many UC and students, do not have on-campus housing available and can not bundle transportation and parking costs into financial aid. Further, many of our rural campuses have no feasible public transportation options. For our campuses adjacent to neighborhoods, the bill would simply encourage more students to park off campus, creating more tension between town and gown.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Write a letter to the Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Gloria Romero, asking the committee to exempt community colleges from the bill to ensure that they remain affordable and accessible community-based institutions.

Gloria Romero, Chair
Senate Education Committee
State Capitol, Room 2083
Sacramento, CA 95814

Fax: (916) 445-0485
E-mail: senator.romero@sen.ca.gov

Finally, today is Earth Day, and while this bill is flawed because it would disproportionately impact lower-income community college students and employees, it is important to consider the impact of our campuses on the environment. That is why I am so proud of the districts that are working with local transit agencies to bring light rail lines and transit centers to campuses, and are building some of the greenest LEED-certified buildings in the state. We welcome your ideas on how to ensure that community colleges can continue to deliver an affordable and accessible education in the most environmentally sustainable manner.

Scott Lay
President and Chief Executive Officer

Note: The $1,100/year parking fee is based on a parking structure with an average space cost of $22,000 amortized over a 20-year period.

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Community College League of California
2017 O Street, Sacramento, California 95811
916.444.8641 . www.ccleague.org