Free student transit passes: eligibility for state funding.

Existing law declares that the fostering, continuance, and development of public transportation systems are a matter of state concern. Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation to administer various programs and allocates moneys for various public transportation purposes. This bill would require transit agencies to offer free student transit passes to persons attending the California Community Colleges, the California State University, or the University of California in order to be eligible for state funding under the Mills-Alquist-Deddeh Act, the State Transit Assistance Program, or the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program. The bill would also require a free student transit pass to count as a full price fare for purposes of calculating the ratio of fare revenues to operating costs. The Donahoe Higher Education Act establishes the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges as the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in the state. The provisions of the act apply to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California, by appropriate resolution, make them applicable. This bill would prohibit the California Community Colleges, California State University, and University of California, if the regents adopt an appropriate resolution, from charging, as part of mandatory systemwide tuition or fees, students for any transit service offered by a transit agency required to provide free student transit passes pursuant to the above-described provisions.