A bill aimed at creating revenue for higher education in California was abruptly halted and revised by the Assembly Committee on Appropriations before reaching the Senate on Jan. 28, 2010.
AB 656, written by Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico (D-Fremont), originally proposed the imposition of a 9.9 percent severance tax on California's oil and natural gas, as well as the creation of the California Higher Education Fund and the California Higher Education Endowment Corporation. All of the revenue raised from the tax was to go directly into the fund and be administered by the corporation to the state's three higher education systems in an effort to alleviate the current budget crisis.
According to a fact sheet produced by Torrico's office, California is the only oil producing state without such a tax.
Rather than actually imposing the tax, the committee amended AB 656 to require the State Board of Equalization to report on or before Nov. 1 of each year the estimated amount of revenue a severance tax would raise for the fund. Previous amendments increased the amount of the tax to 12.5 percent and upped the allotment of funds to community colleges from 10 to 25 percent.
"The bill's alive," said Ramón Castellblanch, assistant professor of health education at SF State and president of the local chapter of the California Faculty Association. "With the amendments, it got out of Appropriations."
AB 656 is currently awaiting committee assignment in the Senate.
"The thing will be to see what committee assignment it gets and contact that committee chair," said Castellblanch of what