Assembly OKs Freeze on College Fees

The California Assembly on Monday approved a bill to freeze public college fees for two years and base any future increases on upturns in an economic indicator that has been growing about 4.5% a year.

The legislation, passed 44 to 20, is one of two bills trying to set a long-range fee policy that would supply ample money for California colleges and universities without repeating the whopping fee increases of the early 1990s. The bill now moves to the state Senate.

California’s community college fees quadrupled during the early 1990s while fees more than doubled at the nine-campus University of California and at the 22-campus California State University system.

If the Legislature and the governor agree to a two-year freeze, that would bring the decade’s average annual student fee increase to 30% for community colleges, 14% for University of California campuses and about 10% for Cal State schools, said Lt. Gov. Gray Davis, the legislation’s sponsor.

“There are only so many part-time jobs a student can have to keep pace with that kind of increase,” he said.

Davis’ bill, which was carried by Assemblywoman Denise Ducheny (D-San Diego), would tie future increases to the annual growth in personal income--an economic indicator expected to increase 4.5% annually in coming years.

The competing legislation, introduced by Assembly Speaker Cruz Bustamante (D-Fresno), would also tie student fee hikes to personal income growth but does not include a two-year freeze.

Bustamante’s bill also specifies that the UC and Cal State systems will receive more than 8% of the state budget, guaranteeing the schools a stable source of funds.

Student fees, which cover less than a third of total college costs, have historically fluctuated: remaining flat during flush economic times when the state budget can adequately fund higher education but skyrocketing during economic downturns to make up for budget shortfalls.

Gov. Pete Wilson, UC President Richard C. Atkinson and Cal State University Chancellor Barry Munitz have agreed in concept on a new policy that would not surprise students with fluctuating fees. The specifics are to be worked out as the two bills wend their way through the Legislature.

“The intentions of both bills are similar,” said UC Budget Director Larry Hershman. “Our hope is that someday soon these two bills will come together.”