(a) In enacting this article, it is the intent of the Legislature to accomplish all of the following:

(1) Provide explicit authority to the board to continue to administer accounts for, and make awards to, persons who qualified for awards under the provisions of the Governor’s Scholarship Programs as those provisions existed on January 1, 2003, prior to the repeal of former Article 20 (commencing with Section 69995).

Terms Used In California Education Code 69999.6

  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Board: means the Scholarshare Investment Board established pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 69984. See California Education Code 69999.8

(2) Provide for the management and disbursement of funds previously set aside for the scholarship programs authorized by former Article 20 (commencing with Section 69995).

(3) Provide a guarantee should additional funds be needed to cover awards authorized and made pursuant to former Article 20 (commencing with Section 69995).

(b) The board may manage and disburse the funds previously set aside for the scholarship programs authorized by former Article 20 (commencing with Section 69995).

(c) If a person has earned an award under the Governor’s Scholarship Programs on or before January 1, 2003, but has not claimed the award on or before June 30, 2004, he or she still may claim the award by a date that is five years from the first June 30 that fell after he or she took the qualifying test. An award shall not be made by the board after that date.

(d) The board shall negotiate with the current manager of the Governor’s Scholarship Programs and execute an amended or new management and funding agreement, before January 1, 2013, which shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:

(1) Terms providing for the return to the General Fund by no later than January 1, 2013, of moneys appropriated to the Governor’s Scholarship Programs that are not anticipated to be needed to make awards pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a).

(2) Provisions that authorize the board to pay agreed-upon early withdrawal penalties or fees.

(3) Terms that extend to the final date upon which the board may withdraw funds for a person who earned an award under the Governor’s Scholarship Programs.

(e) (1) If funds retained in the Golden State Scholarshare Trust after January 1, 2013, are insufficient to cover the remaining withdrawal requests, it is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate the necessary funds to the Golden State Scholarshare Trust for the purpose of funding individual beneficiary accounts.

(2) The board shall notify the Department of Finance and the Legislature no later than 10 working days after determining that a shortfall in available funding described in paragraph (1) will occur.

(f) (1) (A) Of the funds transferred to the General Fund pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (d), five million dollars ($5,000,000) is hereby appropriated to the Chancellor of the California State University, without regard to fiscal years, to fund the establishment and administration of the California Open Education Resources Council and the California Digital Open Source Library, and the development or acquisition of open education resources, or any combination thereof, pursuant to legislation enacted in the 2011-12 Regular Session of the Legislature, provided that the chancellor may provide reimbursement to the California Community Colleges and the University of California for costs those segments, or their representatives, incur in association with the activities described in this paragraph.

(B) Effective January 1, 2016, three million dollars ($3,000,000) of the moneys appropriated pursuant to this paragraph are hereby reappropriated pursuant to paragraph (4).

(2) Except those moneys allocated pursuant to paragraphs (3) and (4), moneys, or a portion of moneys, appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) shall not be encumbered unless at least 100 percent of that amount encumbered is matched by private funds and, if not matched by private funds, shall revert to the Golden State Scholarshare Trust for purposes of the Governor’s Scholarship Programs.

(3) Of the unencumbered amount appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) as of June 30, 2015:

(A) Up to two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) may be used for administration of the California Open Online Library for Education. These funds may be used by the California Open Online Library for Education to continue developing and updating its services to provide faculty, staff, and students convenient access to open educational resources as course materials and to provide administrative support for the California Open Educational Resources Council. These funds may be used by the California Open Online Library for Education for purposes of the Open Educational Resources and Adoption Incentive Program until September 1, 2020.

(B) Up to twenty-seven thousand dollars ($27,000) may be used for stipends to members of the California Open Education Resources Council for these members to carry out their duties in accordance with the Open Educational Resources Adoption Incentive Program.

(4) Of the funds transferred to the General Fund pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) and appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1), three million dollars ($3,000,000) is hereby reappropriated to the Chancellor of the California State University, without regard to fiscal years, for allocation for the Open Educational Resources Adoption Incentive Program.

(g) The board may adopt rules and regulations for the implementation of this article.

(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 633, Sec. 2. (AB 798) Effective January 1, 2016.)