Student financial aid: Cal Grant Program.

Existing law, the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program, establishes the Cal Grant A and B Entitlement awards, the California Community College Transfer Cal Grant Entitlement awards, the Competitive Cal Grant A and B awards, the Cal Grant C awards, and the Cal Grant T awards under the administration of the Student Aid Commission, and establishes eligibility requirements for awards under these programs for participating students attending qualifying institutions. Under the Cal Grant B Entitlement Program, awards may be made for access costs, defined as living expenses and expenses for transportation, supplies, and books, in an amount not to exceed $1,551 annually, as adjusted in the annual Budget Act. This bill would require the Treasurer to certify the amount of moneys available in an academic year from the College Access Tax Credit Fund for distribution, and provide that an amount determined by the Student Aid Commission would be available for expenditure, upon appropriation to the commission by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act, from the College Access Tax Credit Fund, for distribution to students to supplement Cal Grant B access cost awards to bring those students' total annual awards for access costs to not more than $5,000 and to defray the administrative costs incurred by the commission in implementing the bill. The bill would become operative only if SB 798 is enacted and becomes operative on or before January 1, 2015. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.