Chaptered Legislation and Legal Updates by Year
This year marked the first of the 2025-26 Legislative Session, which concluded on September 12, 2025. The Legislature sent 917 Assembly Bills (AB) and Senate Bills (SB) to Governor Newsom and 794 of those bills were signed into law, with the remainder being vetoed. A total of 77 bills directly impacting California Community Colleges or higher education were signed.
This year marked the second year of the 2023-24 Legislative Session, which concluded on August 31, 2024. In 2024, the Legislature sent 1,206 Assembly Bills (AB) and Senate Bills (SB) to Governor Newsom and 1,017 of those bills were signed into law, with the remainder being vetoed. A total of 118 bills pertaining to California Community Colleges or higher education were signed.
2023 marked the first of a two-year legislative cycle, which concluded on Sept. 15. In 2023, the Legislature sent 1,046 Assembly Bills and Senate Bills to Governor Newsom and 890 of those bills were signed into law with the balance being vetoed. A total of 81 bills pertaining to California Community Colleges were signed. The Chancellor's Office has developed two reports to support districts in the implementation of new laws and mandates.
2023 Chaptered Legislation Quick Reference Guide for Districts (PDF)
Sept. 30 marked the end of the second year of the 2021-22 Legislative Session, with Governor Newsom taking final actions on bills approved by the Legislature in 2022. Of the 362 newly introduced and two-year bills related to higher education, the Governor signed 99 into law. The Governor approved one bill sponsored by the Board of Governors; 9 of 13 supported bills; and the only bill opposed by the Chancellor’s Office was not enacted. Of the four bills with a “Support” position that failed to advance, two of them were included as part of the 2022 State Budget (Cal Grant Reform and removal of the NextUp district cap). The Legislature will convene for the 2023-24 Legislative Session on Dec. 5, 2022.
Oct. 9 marked the end of the first year of the 2021-22 Legislative Session, with Governor Newsom taking final actions on bills approved by the Legislature in 2021. Of the 2,400 bills collectively introduced by the Assembly and Senate, we identified 203 bills relating to the California Community Colleges and/or the Chancellor's Office. Governor Newsom signed 91 bills relating to our system into law. The Governor approved the only bill sponsored by the Chancellor's Office and 10 of the 17 bills supported by our office. Of the four bills with an Oppose position one bill died; one was made into a two-year bill; one was signed into law; and one received amendments that moved our office to a neutral position.
The Legislature will reconvene for the second year of the two-year legislative session on Jan. 3, 2022. Approximately 106 bills related to higher education could be acted upon next year.
Sept. 30 marked the end of the second year of the 2019-20 Legislative Session, with Governor Newsom taking final actions on bills approved by the Legislature in 2020. Due to health and safety concerns arising from the COVID-19 crisis, the Assembly and Senate significantly reduced the number of bills typically considered, and instead only adopted legislation necessary to directly respond to the public health emergency and economic recession. Below is a quick snapshot of legislative efforts of the two-year legislative session.
Of the 208 two-year and newly introduced bills related to higher education considered by the Legislature in 2020, the Governor signed 48 into law. The Chancellor’s Office did not take an oppose position on any bills and of the 11 bills supported by the Board of Governors, the Governor signed five. Additionally, the Board of Governors took a support position on Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5 (which was approved by the Legislature in June), and sponsored one bill (Senate Bill 291) during the 2020 Legislative Session. SB 291 died without a hearing in the Assembly Higher Education Committee.
Oct. 13 marked the end of the first year of the 2019-20 Legislative Session, with Governor Newsom taking final actions on bills approved by the Legislature in 2019. Of the 232 introduced bills related to community colleges, the Governor signed 85 into law. The Governor approved three of the four bills sponsored by the Board of Governors; 19 of 24 supported bills; and neither of the bills opposed by the Chancellor’s Office were enacted.
We moved into 2020 with 147 higher education related bills pending in the Legislature, including Board-sponsored Senate Bill 291 (Leyva) to reform California’s financial aid program to better support community college students. The Legislature will reconvene for the on Jan. 6, 2020.
The California Legislature adjourned for the 2017-18 Legislative Session on Aug. 31, 2018, and the Governor was required to act on approved Legislation by Sept. 30, 2018. The Governmental Relations Division has identified 67 bills signed by Governor Brown that have a direct or indirect effect on the Chancellor’s Office, California Community Colleges, and/or California students.
On Sept. 15, 2017, the Legislature adjourned for Interim Recess. The final day for the Governor to sign or veto the bills approved by the Legislature was Oct. 15, 2017. Of the 179 bills introduced in 2017 that were tracked by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, the Governor approved 39 bills that directly affect California Community Colleges and the students our colleges serve (including six related to the 2017-18 Budget Act).
