Budget Hearings Commence: What We’ve Learned So Far
Community College League of California
Serving California's 116 community colleges and 73 districts.
Soon after the Governor released his budget on January 10, the Legislature began its season of hearings on the proposal.
The full Senate and Assembly Budget Committees met in succession on January 30 and February 10 to hear from both the Department of Finance (DoF) and Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) on the overview of the entire package. While concerns over funding for the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) overshadowed those of the California Community Colleges (CCC), legislators asked questions about the Student Centered Funding Formula and unfunded growth.
In both hearings, moreover, legislators pressed the DoF on the Administration’s rationale for creating a $1.6 billion Settle Up obligation within Proposition 98 for fiscal year 2024-25. In this regard, the Governor’s proposal takes pressure off the non-Proposition 98 side of the budget by holding money from K-14 education in the current year and promising to repay it at an unspecified future date. This is important to CCCs as they receive roughly 10.93 percent of Proposition 98 funds. Leaders in both Houses expressed skepticism on the proposed Settle Up and promised further discussion in future hearings.
On February 18, CCC Chancellor Sonya Christian joined her counterparts, CSU Chancellor Mildred Garcia and UC President Michael Drake, for an overview hearing on higher education funding before the Assembly Education Subcommittee #3 on Education Finance. Chancellor Christian emphasized the need to fully support growth consistent with the System’s Shared Advocacy Request while also supporting the Administration’s Statewide Technology Transformation and Common Data Platform proposals.
On February 27, the Senate Budget Subcommittee #1 on Education held an overview hearing on Proposition 98 where it paid significant attention to the proposed $1.6 billion Settle Up obligation. While the LAO understood the rationale for the proposal, it offered three options which it felt reflected better policy alternatives: 1. Deposit the money in the Proposition 98 reserve account and withdraw up to the amount required by law; 2. Allocate the money in the budget but delay distribution until the required amount is fully determined; 3. Suspend the Proposition 98 minimum guarantee for 2024-25. Budget Subcommittee Chair John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) expressed support for these ideas while noting that his subcommittee would not be voting on any of the matters before it for a few months. In this hearing, the LAO also noted that the COLA for CCCs and K-12 may end up slightly lower than the January proposal of 2.43 percent.
Follow the League’s electronic and social media for continuing developments on the budget. The next major subcommittee hearings on CCCs are scheduled for March 18 in the Assembly and March 20 in the Senate.
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Authored by: Jonathan Lightman, League Consultant