Sacramento, CA – As the Legislature convened for the new year, Legislative Republicans today wasted no time in taking action to protect California’s college students from costly tuition hikes, introducing legislation to prevent tuition and fee increases at all California State University (CSU), University of California (UC) and community college campuses. Under the proposal, the tuition freeze would last for at least 7 years, the same amount of time the Prop. 30 tax increases are in effect.

“As a college instructor, I have seen firsthand how hard it is for so many of my students to afford the dream of a college education,” said Assemblyman Jeff Gorell, R-Camarillo, the author of Assembly Bill 67. “The cost of a public university education has almost doubled over the last five years. It’s essential that the Legislature act now to secure these dollars for higher education and prevent further tuition hikes. Our legislation will dedicate these dollars as the voters intended – to our students.”

In November, California voters approved Proposition 30, a statewide tax increase that is expected to generate $50 billion in new revenue over 7 years – including for higher education. Republicans said that while there is a provision in the measure to ensure this new revenue flows directly to schools, there is another provision in the measure which allows the Legislature to reduce current General Fund dollars for K-14 education. As a result, schools will see just a $2.6 billion increase in funding in 2012-13, despite the fact that Proposition 30 will generate $5.3 billion in new revenue.

Worse, there is no provision in Proposition 30 guaranteeing that there will be funding increases for California State University (CSU) or University of California (UC) campuses, despite what proponents of the measure said to taxpayers and students during the campaign. While the 2013-14 budget increases funding by $125 million for each system, this is not guaranteed money and it can be reversed with a majority vote of the Legislature. Additionally, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst recently forecast that funding for the UC and CSU systems will remain relatively flat over the next five fiscal years, even with $50 billion in new revenue anticipated from the passage of Proposition 30.

“The proponents of Prop 30 traveled to many college campuses telling students there would be no new fee increases if it passed,” said Senator Anthony Cannella, R-Ceres, the author of Senate Bill 58. “As we have seen so many times before, money that should go to our public colleges and universities could easily be transferred to fund other programs. This bill makes that promise a guarantee. I hope that all legislators understand the importance of this bill so we can uphold the promise to our students, and give peace of mind that there will be no tuition increases, period.”

Assembly Bill 67 (Gorell) and Senate Bill 58 (Cannella) will each ensure that the will of the people is upheld by requiring that there be no mandatory tuition and fee increases for CSU and UC campuses about the rates set in the 2011-12 academic year, while Proposition 30 remains on the books. Additionally, the measure states the intent of the Legislature that funding for CSU and UC campuses be increased while Proposition 30 is in effect, to make any potential fee increases unnecessary.