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Committee OKs measure letting community college chancellor's office charge reasonable fees for special research data requests
Summary
SB 391 would authorize the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office to impose reasonable fees on non-routine research partners requesting detailed data, with the fee revenue reinvested into research capacity. The committee passed the bill as amended to Senate Appropriations.
Senator Laird presented SB 391, which would authorize the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office to impose reasonable fees on research partners seeking access to non-routine or specially prepared data. The chancellor’s office and its witnesses said that the office already provides numerous public dashboards but that specialized research requests require staff time and legal review. The office (represented by Linda Vasquez) described a small research team and increasing unfunded workload, and said a fee would cover staff time, licensing, professional development and capacity building, not to generate profit.
Committee members asked how the fee would be set and whether exemptions would exist. Senator Laird said the policy contemplates tiered levels of complexity (basic, moderate, complex), estimating a low-end fee in the low thousands and a higher band (several thousand dollars) for intensive requests; the Board of Governors would adopt the final schedule with public input.
No registered opposition appeared in the hearing room. The committee moved SB 391, as amended, to the Senate Appropriations Committee to review fiscal implications and the fee schedule.
