The 2007 State Budget provided $11.3 billion for higher education which reflects an increase of $475 million, or 4.4% above the 2006-07 Budget which includes a fee increase for students at the University of California of 7% and for California State University students of 10%.
Significant higher education legislation signed into law included: SB 45 (Perata) extending the limited state oversight of private postsecondary schools from February 1, 2008 to July 1, 2008; SB 89 (Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee) authorizing the sale, or an alternative financial arrangement to sale, of the state student loan guarantee program; SB 91 (State Budget and Fiscal Review Committee) repealing the EdFund, upon the sale authorized by SB 92; SB 166 (Negrete McLeod) requiring the Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges, by January 1, 2009, to develop emergency preparedness standards and guidelines, as specified, to assist community college districts and campuses in the event of a natural disaster, hazardous conditions, or terrorist activity on or around campus; SB 272 (Runner) requiring every campus in the California State University and the California Community Colleges systems that uses a priority enrollment system to grant priority for course registration to any member or former member of the armed forces for any academic term within two years of their leaving active duty. The University of California is requested to comply with this process; SB 283 (Maldonado) clarifying the organization responsible for providing the Governor a list of at least three names of potential student members to the California Community Colleges Board of Governors, as specified; SB 854 (Ridley-Thomas) requiring public institutions of higher education in coordination with the Secretary of State to operate an automated program that will permit students to elect to receive voter registration materials at that time they register for classes; SB 855 (Ridley-Thomas) revising the California State University revenue bond program in order to cut costs and obtain lower interest rates; AB 262 (Coto) regulating credit card marketing on public campuses and universities; AB 950 (Salas) extending, from one year to two years, the time period for which non-California members of the Armed Forces shall be entitled to resident classification for the purpose of paying fees for graduate study at the California State University; AB 962 (Houston) requiring the California Postsecondary Education Commission to assess information and barriers relating to the creation of new speech-language pathology assistant training programs; AB 1525 (Cook) ensuring the continuity in educational services to students at the Bureau of Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education-approved private postsecondary institution after the law authorizing the Bureau becomes inoperative on July 1, 2007; AB 1540 (Bass) formally establishing the Cash for College Program within the California Student Aid Commission to be operated in partnership with local private and community organizations to support workshops aimed at assisting low-income and first generation college-bound students with state and federal financial aid applications; AB 1548 (Solorio) establishing the College Textbook Transparency Act for the purposes of requiring publishers and college bookstores to disclose certain information and to require faculty and other textbook adopters to follow specified practices in the adoption and purchase of textbooks; and AB 1559 (Berryhill) specifying, until January 1, 2016, admission criteria that California Community College registered nursing (RN) programs may use if the number of applicants exceeds the enrollment capacity of the RN program.
Vetoed significant higher education legislation included: SB 1 (Cedillo) enacting the California Dream Act by providing that California high school graduates who are exempt under the non resident in-state tuition requirements of current law be eligible for the Cal-Grant Program for high school students and apply for a fee waiver at a California Community College; SB 65 (Cedillo) creating the San Jose State University-National Hispanic University Collaboration; SB 826 (Padilla) requesting the University of California to carry out specified responsibilities with respect to Native American education that are under existing law assigned to the State Librarian; SB 832 (Corbett) establishing the College Textbook Affordability Act and requiring each textbook publisher to provide prospective purchasers at the public and private postsecondary education institutions with specified information; AB 483 (Salas) authorizing the Board of Governors of California Community Colleges to conduct a study of public contracting limits established under specified Public Contract Codes to determine the effectiveness of these provisions for community college districts; AB 668 (Portantino) requiring the California Community Colleges to develop statements for students regarding the availability of federal financial aid; and AB1413 (Portantino) authorizing an ex officio member of the California State University Board of Trustees to designate a staff person to attend Trustee meetings on his/her behalf and establishes new requirements governing executive compensation.
The February 5, 2008 Presidential Primary ballot contains Proposition 92 which establishes, in the Constitution, a system of independent public community college districts and Board of Governors.
