Assemblyman Manny Diaz (D-San Jose) has introduced a bill to the state legislature that would change the rules for increasing student fees.

The bill, titled Assembly Bill 550, would amend the state education code to add provisions that would create a Student Fee Advisory Committee, made up of CSU and UC students, which would have to approve any proposed system-wide tuition increase. AB 550 would also require the CSU Board of Trustees and UC Board of Regents to construct long-term policies regarding fee increases.

In the bill, Diaz states that “in order to keep resident undergraduate student fees at the state’s public universities as low and affordable as possible, the state shall bear the preponderance of responsibility for funding postsecondary education.”

ASI President Eric Guerra loves the idea.

“We’re not consulted,” Guerra said, referring to the fact that tuition increases, like the midterm hike that yielded a $72 increase this spring for resident undergraduates at all CSU campuses, occur without advisement from students.

ASI unanimously passed a resolution March 26 fully supporting AB 550, though Guerra remains optimistically cautious.

“It’s always a battle when you have to deal with bureaucracy and the status quo,” Guerra said.

At a press conference Monday, Diaz emphasized the need for student input.

“This bill will bring attention to (the) need for student participation,” Diaz said. “It’s important to establish the proper type of process with sufficient time for review.”

Former ASI President Artemio Pimentel agreed.

“We want a stronger voice,” said Pimentel, who is the current ASI representative to the California State Student Association, where he serves as the chair of the Board of Directors.

“The CSU may be the cheapest education in the nation, but we have a higher cost of living and higher cost of transportation,” Pimentel said.Stephen Klass, chair of the Board of Directors for the University of California Student Association, cited the need for a broad coalition among all California students.

“We had two weeks’ notice for the midterm increase,” Klass said. “Students had to take out unsubsidized loans, work longer, or even drop out.”

Currently, no student approval is required to enact tuition increases. The CSU Board of Trustees approved a mid-year tuition increase last December. Due to budget constraints, another 25 percent increase to student fees is expected before Fall 2003.

AB 550 is not expected to be enacted before the Board of Trustees approves the fee hike.

The bill will be heard and discussed in the Committee on Higher Education on April 22.

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