Founder Omar Paz Jr. Registration no. C3782868 | Type Nonprofit corporation Legal status Active, definition of | |
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Formation April 29, 2015; 22 months ago (2015-04-29) Tax ID no. 47–5327498, tax status: Federal and State | ||
Student Senate for California Community Colleges (SSCCC) is a nonprofit corporation. It was formed under the California "Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law" on April 29, 2015.
Contents
- Establishment and incorporation
- Predecessor organizations
- Noteworthy events
- Lobbying
- Principal Office and Officers
- References
SSCCC is organized for "charitable purposes" and for the "specific purposes" stated in its articles of incorporation. SSCCC endeavors to "improve student access, promote student success, engage and empower local student leaders, and enrich the collegiate experience for all California community college students".
The activities of SSCCC are conducted and its powers are exercised by or under the direction of a "board of directors", as required by law.
Establishment and incorporation
Section 76060.5 of the California Education Code was enacted in 1987. That section provided for the collection and disbursement of "student representation fees". An "unincorporated association" named Student Senate for California Community Colleges was organized on May 7, 2006. That association was funded, in part, by student representation fees.
In 2013 the unincorporated SSCCC supported the amendment of Section 76060.5. Amendments to Section 76060.5 were enacted and became effective on January 1, 2014. The amendments provide, in part, that "a statewide community college student organization" must be "established as a legal entity registered with the Secretary of State" in order to qualify to receive distributions of student representation fees from the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. A nonprofit California corporation named Student Senate for California Community Colleges was established in 2015 as a means of fulfilling the "legal entity" requirement in Section 76060.5, as amended.
Predecessor organizations
The unincorporated SSCCC was established in May 2006. It was preceded by several similar organizations: the California Junior College Association; the California Community College Student Government Association; the Community College Student Lobby; and the California Student Association of Community Colleges (CalSACC).
CalSACC was established in 1987. By 2005, CalSACC's membership had dwindled to just 27 student body associations (about one-quarter of the total number of student body associations). And by 2007, CalSACC had become "virtually non-existent". In 2008 CalSACC's remaining assets were donated to the unincorporated SSCCC. The sum of $57,150.53 was transferred to the SSCCC on June 3, 2008.
CalSACC had ten organizational subdivisions, which were called “regions”. During the gradual disintegration and ultimate dissolution of CalSACC, its regions continued functioning autonomously. On May 6 and 7, 2006, community college student leaders from throughout California gathered at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in San Diego, California. They considered several model constitutions for a new statewide student organization. They adopted constitutional model "E" by a vote of 59 in favor and 11 opposed. That model grouped the former CalSACC regions together under the name “Student Senate for California Community Colleges”. Then, each of the ten former CalSACC regions selected two representatives, and those 20 representatives ratified the SSCCC constitution on May 7, 2006. The former CalSACC regions subsequently changed their names to reflect the fact that they had become regions of the SSCCC.
Noteworthy events
On March 5, 2012 the SSCCC, the California State Student Association, and the University of California Student Association sponsored a rally at the California State Capitol. About 8,000 people gathered on the western steps of the capitol and listened to speeches by student leaders and by state leaders, including Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, Assembly Speaker John Pérez, and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg. After the rally, protestors from the Occupy movement entered the capitol and refused to leave. Officers of the California Highway Patrol arrested 72 people for trespassing. These events generated dozens of news reports.
Lobbying
Education Code Section 76060.5 authorizes the collection and expenditure of student representation fees. Subdivision (c)(1) of Section 76060.5 provides that such fees "shall be expended to establish and support the operations of a statewide community college student organization, recognized by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, with effective student representation and participation in state-level community college shared governance and with governmental affairs representatives to advocate before the Legislature and other state and local governmental entities".
SSCCC's representatives participate in state-level community college shared governance by serving as members of a "Consultation Council" established by the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges. SSCCC's representatives also engage in legislative advocacy by contacting members of the California Legislature and by testifying before committees of the Legislature. Efforts to influence the decisions of California legislators and officials must be conducted in accordance with the Political Reform Act of 1974 (commencing with California Government Code Section 81000). The provisions of that Act are administered by the Political Reform Division of the California Secretary of State's office.
Principal Office and Officers
A document marked “FJ73842” was filed in the office of the California Secretary of State on “FEB-08 2017”. The document indicates that the street address of SSCCC’s principal office in California is: 1102 Q Street, 5th Floor, Sacramento, California, 95811. The document also indicates that Courtney L. Cooper is the chief executive officer of SSCCC, that Errin Bass is the secretary, and that Philip Dailey is the chief financial officer.