ASSEMBLYWOMAN QUIRK-SILVA ADDRESSES CALIFORNIA COLLEGE CHALLENGES

SACRAMENTO, CA – Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva’s (Orange County) legislation, addressing the growing concerns and issues affecting California Higher Education have been signed the Governor.  

Assembly Bill (AB) 136 prevents anyone found guilty in the college admissions scandal from taking tax deductions for donations made to the charities involved.  The intention of the bill is to prevent scandals of this magnitude from being replicated.  In March 2019, more than fifty people, many from California, were indicted by federal prosecutors with charges ranging from alleged bribes paid to college coaches, standardized college testing administrators paid for illegal activity, and parents who paid contributions used for bribes so that their children can secure admissions to the best universities that the United States has to offer.

A former Educator, Quirk-Silva went on to add “It is essential that we bring back integrity to our college admissions, and the Governor signing our bill into law makes this reality. The criminal actions have victimized hard working and low-income students who were denied admissions because of the actions of those involved – and they were able to do so at the expense of the California taxpayers. These actions will not be tolerated and my bill intends to hold those accountable,” said Quirk-Silva.

Additionally, the Governor signed AB 2, legislation Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva jointly authored.  “By expanding the College Promise Program we are providing working class students, and their families, assurance that the cost of higher education, will be within their reach. A reinvestment in our students is an investment in California’s future by ensuring well-educated students, a skilled workforce and a viable economy.”

Moreover, Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva’s request for a state audit uncovered that the California State University has been funneling hundreds of millions to accounts outside of the State Treasury.  CSU has disregarded state laws, and used millions of dollars in revenue from campus parking permit fees to fund projects unrelated to the CSU parking program.  It was discovered that the surplus from these fees were hidden in separate accounts from public and state overview.

“The practice of hiding state funds and ignoring state laws must end,” said Quirk-Silva.  “It is our responsibility to ensure that Californian’s higher education system is doing what they are supposed to do; providing quality education with honesty and integrity.”

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