Assemblyman Alberto Torrico hypes up California colleges about oil tax to fund education

Assemblyman Alberto Torrico hypes up
California colleges about oil tax to fund education

Read the article on SantaCruzSentinel.com
 

APTOS -- Cabrillo College students spent their lunch break Thursday rallying around the Fair Share for Fair Tuition Act, AB 656, which seeks to bring in $2 billion a year to California colleges and universities.

The bill would create a 12.5 percent extraction tax on oil companies to increase higher education funding. In an environment where schools in Santa Cruz County stands to lose upward of $50 million, Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, D-Fremont, visited 35 higher education campuses to rally students around the bill. He has collected about 80,000 signatures in favor of the bill and aims to get 20,000 more before heading to the governor's office in June to show the growing support.

Tired of dealing with budget cuts, nearly 30 students held signs that read "Pass AB 656 Now!"

Observing the rally among the crowd, Cabrillo student Scott Silveira said he supports AB 656.

"I've been here off and on for six years now," Silveira said. "I've been here awhile. I've seen a lot of things go under here so I really hope it happens."

Cabrillo College has lost $3.7 million in the past year, including 8 percent in state funding. It has frozen or eliminated 31 positions and cut about 350 classes.

"A quarter million [students] are going to be turned away from colleges this fall -- the community colleges, the UCs, CSUs combined," Torrico said. "This bill tries to open the doors of opportunity that are closing."

Torrico said the bill has been approved by the Assembly and a hearing in the Senate Education Committee will be held in the next few weeks to review it. It should arrive on the floor of the Senate sometime this summer, Torrico said.

The revenue would be divided among the three college systems. California State Universities would receive 50 percent and University of California campuses and community colleges would each get 25 percent.

"We chose an extraction fee because every other state that has oil production charges an extraction fee except for California, so any barrel that comes out, they'll pay a fee on it," Torrico said. "It's half of what Alaska charges."

The money would be distributed annually by the California Higher Education Endowment Corp. created by the bill.

Chanting "Our education, our future," representatives from the student senate took turns on stage discussing personal experiences with budget cuts.

Student trustee Elizabeth Habara said she sat on the floor in overcrowded classrooms for two weeks not knowing whether she had been accepted in the class.

"I am so sick and tired of hearing about budget cuts and seeing the aftermath at school," Habara said. "If this passes, it will bring $2 billion into our public higher education and into our pockets."

Click here to learn more about Alberto Torrico on the Campaign Trail.