AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 21, 2025

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 24, 2025

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

97

Introduced by Assembly Member Solache

February 19, 2025

An act to add Chapter 15.8 (commencing with Section 67394) to Part 40 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code, relating to public postsecondary education.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

The Donahoe Higher Education Act establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, and the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, as 2 of the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in the state.

This bill would establish the Debt Free College at the UC and the CSU College Access for All Fund in the State Treasury and would require all moneys in the fund to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the University of California and the California State University for purposes of lowering the cost of undergraduate attendance, either through tuition reductions or loan repayment programs, or a combination of tuition reductions and loan repayment programs.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) According to Georgetown University, over the past 20 years a college degree has increasingly become a prerequisite to a well-paying, stable job.

(b) The Public Policy Institute of California found that on average, graduates of California’s public universities earn up to 62 percent more annually than a high school graduate.

(c) Over the past 50 years, tuition and fees at the University of California have nearly quadrupled, while at the California State University tuition and fees have jumped sixfold.

(d) The cost of attending the University of California has ballooned to over $45,000 annually, $14,934 of which accounts for tuition and fees. At the California State University, tuition and fees average nearly $8,000 annually.

(e) According to the Public Policy Institute of California, the high cost of tuition, coupled with California’s high cost of living, forces two-thirds of undergraduates at the University of California and the California State University to take on student debt.

(f) Nearly 4,000,000 Californians already owe over $142 billion in student debt, and this acts as a drag on the state’s economy.

(g) The lack of an educated workforce will deny the state the ability to draw upon the critical resources that are necessary to assist with the state’s current economic crisis and to support future economic growth.

(h) Current budget proposals will jeopardize the enrollment of students at the University of California and the California State University.

SEC. 2.

Chapter 15.8 (commencing with Section 67394) is added to Part 40 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code, to read:

Chapter 15.8. Debt Free College at the UC and the CSU College Access for All Fund

67394.

(a) The Debt Free College at the UC and the CSU College Access for All Fund is hereby established in the State Treasury.

(b) All moneys in the fund shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the University of California and the California State University for purposes of lowering the cost of undergraduate attendance, either through tuition reductions or loan repayment programs, or a combination of tuition reductions and loan repayment programs.