AB167 - Higher education budget trailer bill.

Amended IN Senate August 28, 2026 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 167 Introduced by Assembly Member Gabriel Committee on Budget (Assembly Members Gabriel (Chair), Addis, Ahrens, Alvarez, Bennett, Bonta, Caloza, Connolly, Fong, Haney, Hart, Jackson, Lee, Ortega, Patel, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Rogers, Schiavo, Schultz, Sharp-Collins, Solache, Stefani, Ward, and Wilson) January 08, 2025 An act relating to the Budget Act of 2025. to amend Sections 69436, 69743.5, 69745, 69746, 84750.4, and 89526 of, and to repeal Section 84750.7 of, the Education Code, to amend Sections 15820.200, 15820.201, 15820.202, 15820.203, and 15820.205 of, and to add Section 15820.208 to, the Government Code, to amend Sections 1627, 1629.5, and 1630 of the Health and Safety Code, to amend Section 27 of Chapter 9 of the Statutes of 2025, and to amend Section 41 of Chapter 79 of the Statutes of 2026, relating to postsecondary education, and making an appropriation therefor, to take effect immediately, bill related to the budget. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 167, as amended, Committee on Budget. Budget Act of 2025. Higher education budget trailer bill. Existing law prohibits a student who will be 28 years of age or older by December 31 of an award year from receiving a California Community College Transfer Cal Grant Entitlement Award except, from the 2026–27 award year to the 2030–31 award year, inclusive, existing law instead prohibits a student who will be 30 years of age or older by December 31 of an award year from receiving a California Community College Transfer Cal Grant Entitlement Award. This bill instead would prohibit, from the 2027–28 award year to the 2031–32 award year, inclusive, a student who will be 30 years of age or older by December 31 of an award year from receiving a California Community College Transfer Cal Grant Entitlement Award. Existing law establishes the Public Interest Attorney Loan Repayment Program, under the administration of the Student Aid Commission, for licensed attorneys who practice or agree to practice in public interest areas of the law, as defined, and who meet established eligibility criteria. Existing law requires loan repayment of the eligible participant to be made to the lender, as provided. This bill would authorize loan repayment under the Public Interest Attorney Loan Repayment Program to also be made to the participant, and would make related and conforming changes. Existing law requires the office of the Chancellor of the California State University to annually develop, and to report on or before February 15 of each year, to the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, the Assembly Committee on Budget, and the Department of Finance enrollment targets and related data for each California State University campus, as provided. This bill would instead require the chancellor’s office to report the enrollment targets and related data on or before March 15 of each year. Existing law appropriates $49,734,000 in the 2025–26 fiscal year from the Public School System Stabilization Account for allocation for the Student Centered Funding Formula, as specified. This bill would repeal that appropriation. Existing law authorizes the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, a participating college, as defined, and the State Public Works Board (SPWB) to acquire, design, construct, and equip a student housing project, as described, and to acquire the site or sites upon which a student housing project is located. To be eligible for financing for a student housing project, existing law requires a participating college to, among other things, certify to the SPWB that the student housing project design includes the number of beds for low-income students specified in a certain application, as provided. Existing law requires the board of governors, a participating college, and the SPWB to enter into an agreement for each student housing project, as provided. This bill would revise and recast the provisions governing the above-described student housing projects, as specified, including, among other revisions, deleting the above-described authority to acquire a student housing project and to acquire the site or sites upon which a student housing project is located. For student housing projects selected for financing on or after June 30, 2026, the bill would instead require the board of governors to provide SPWB with specified information, including, among other things, documentation that the participating college has fee title ownership of the property upon which the project will be constructed, and documentation of the participating college’s unmet demand for student housing, as specified. Existing law requests the University of California to establish and administer the Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Program, until January 1, 2027, for the purpose of collecting units of umbilical cord blood for public use, as defined, in transplantation and providing nonclinical units for specified research. Existing law requires the university, by January 1, 2026, if it elects to administer the program, to provide a report to the Assembly and Senate Committees on Health that addresses specified information relating to the program, including the number of cord blood units collected and registered under the program, disaggregated by race and ethnicity. This bill would extend the provisions of the program until January 1, 2032. The bill would require the university, by January 1, 2031, if it elects to administer the program, to provide a report to the Assembly and Senate Committees on Health that addresses specified information relating to the program. Existing law appropriates $60,000,000 in the 2025–26 fiscal year, and $147,208,000 in the 2026–27 fiscal year, from the General Fund to the board of governors for the Student Support Block Grant. Existing law authorizes these funds to be expended until June 30, 2029, for specified purposes, including, among other purposes, student basic needs assistance and mental health services, as provided. Existing law requires community college districts, as a condition of receiving these funds, to submit a report to the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges on or before December 31, 2026, and on or before December 31 each year thereafter until December 31, 2029, as provided. Existing law requires the chancellor’s office to submit an interim report on or before July 1, 2028, and a final report on or before July 1, 2030, to the Department of Finance and the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature, as provided. This bill would appropriate an additional $325,000 in the 2026–27 fiscal year for the Student Support Block Grant. The bill would instead authorize the funds appropriated for the Student Support Block Grant to be expended until June 30, 2030, for any student support program purpose, including, but not limited to, the above-described purposes. The bill would extend by one year the above-described deadlines and sunset date for the annual report submitted by community college districts, and would require the chancellor’s office to submit the above-described interim report on or before December 31, 2028, and the above-described final report on or before December 31, 2031. Existing law appropriates $15,000,000 in the 2026–27 fiscal year from the General Fund to the board of governors to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students. For purposes of allocating and expending this funding, existing law requires the chancellor’s office to provide grants of up to $900,000 for participating community college districts based on the proportional share of students they serve and equity metrics to ensure that small rural colleges are also able to access the grants, and authorizes participating community college districts to encumber the funds over a 5-year period. This bill would delete the above-described grant requirement and encumbrance provision. The funds appropriated by the bill would be applied toward meeting the minimum funding requirements for school district and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, as specified. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact statutory changes relating to the Budget Act of 2025. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO YES Fiscal Committee: NO YES Local Program: NO Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 69436 of the Education Code is amended to read: 69436. (a) A student who was not awarded a Cal Grant A or B award pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 69434) or Article 3 (commencing with Section 69435) 69435), respectively, at the time of their high school graduation but, at the time of transfer from a California community college to a qualifying baccalaureate program or upon matriculation into the upper division coursework of a community college baccalaureate program, described in Article 3 (commencing with Section 78040) of Chapter 1 of Part 48 of Division 7, meets all of the criteria set forth in subdivision (b), shall be entitled to a Cal Grant A or B award. (b) Any California resident transferring from a California community college to a qualifying institution that offers a baccalaureate degree or who matriculates into the upper division coursework of a community college baccalaureate program, described in Article 3 (commencing with Section 78040) of Chapter 1 of Part 48 of Division 7, is entitled to receive, and the commission, or a qualifying institution pursuant to Article 8 (commencing with Section 69450), shall award, a Cal Grant A or B award depending on the eligibility determined pursuant to subdivision (c), if all of the following criteria are met: (1) A complete official financial aid application has been submitted or postmarked pursuant to Section 69432.9, no later than the March 2 of the year immediately preceding the award year. (2) The student demonstrates financial need pursuant to Section 69433. (3) The student has earned a community college grade point average of at least 2.4 on a 4.0 scale and is eligible to transfer to a qualifying institution that offers a baccalaureate degree. (4) The student’s household has an income and asset level not exceeding the limits set forth in Section 69432.7. (5) The student is pursuing a baccalaureate degree that is offered by a qualifying institution. (6) The student is enrolled at least part time. (7) The student meets the general Cal Grant eligibility requirements set forth in Article 1 (commencing with Section 69430). (8) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the student will not be 28 years of age or older by December 31 of the award year. (B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), for the 2026–27 2027–28 award year through the 2030–31 2031–32 award year, inclusive, the student will not be 30 years of age or older by December 31 of the award year. (9) The student graduated from a California high school or its equivalent during or after the 2000–01 academic year. (10) (A) Except as provided for in subparagraph (B), the student attended a California community college in the academic year immediately preceding the academic year for which the award will be used. (B) A student otherwise eligible to receive an award pursuant to this section, who attended a California community college in the 2011–12 academic year, may use the award for the 2012–13 and 2013–14 academic years. (c) The amount and type of the award pursuant to this article shall be determined as follows: (1) For applicants with income and assets at or under the Cal Grant A limits, the award amount shall be the amount established pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 69434). (2) For applicants with income and assets at or under the Cal Grant B limits, the award amount shall be the amount established pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 69435). (d) (1) A student meeting the requirements of paragraph (9) of subdivision (b) by means of high school graduation, rather than its equivalent, shall be required to have graduated from a California high school, unless that California resident graduated from a high school outside of California due solely to orders received from a branch of the United States Armed Forces by that student or by that student’s parent or guardian that required that student to be outside of California at the time of high school graduation. (2) For the purposes of this article, all of the following are exempt from the requirements of paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 69433.9 and paragraph (9) of subdivision (b) of this section: (A) A student for whom a claim under this article was paid before December 1, 2005. (B) A student for whom a claim under this article for the 2004–05 award year or the 2005–06 award year was or is paid on or after December 1, 2005, but no later than October 15, 2006. (C) Commencing with the 2017–18 academic year, a student who did not graduate from high school or its equivalent and was a California resident, as determined pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 68060) of Chapter 1 of Part 41, on their 18th birthday. (3) (A) The commission, or a qualifying institution pursuant to Article 8 (commencing with Section 69450), shall make preliminary awards to all applicants currently eligible for an award under this article. At the time an applicant receives a preliminary award, the commission, or a qualifying institution pursuant to Article 8 (commencing with Section 69450), shall require that applicant to affirm, in writing, under penalty of perjury, that they meet the requirements set forth in paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 69433.9, paragraph (9) of subdivision (b) of this section, and paragraph (1) of this subdivision. The commission, or a qualifying institution pursuant to Article 8 (commencing with Section 69450), shall notify each person who receives a preliminary award under this paragraph that their award is subject to an audit pursuant to subparagraph (B). (B) The commission shall select, at random, a minimum of 10 percent of the new and renewal awards made under subparagraph (A), and shall require, before the disbursement of Cal Grant funds to the affected postsecondary institution, that the institution verify that the recipient meets the requirements of paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 69433.9, paragraph (9) of subdivision (b) of this section, and paragraph (1) of this subdivision. An award that is audited under this paragraph and found to be valid shall not be subject to a subsequent audit. (C) Pursuant to Section 69517.5, the commission shall seek repayment of any and all funds found to be improperly disbursed under this article. (D) On or before November 1 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]