Governor Brown recently released his budget proposal to the Legislature for the next fiscal year and he rightly makes education a top priority. Republicans agree with him. In fact, the entire Legislature should seize this opportunity to make our students a true priority. That is why I co-authored Assembly Bill 67 that would protect students at the University of California, California State University, and California Community Colleges from rising costs. We want to pass a seven year freeze that would hold tuition and fees at the levels set in the 2011-12 academic year. This would give students relief and financial predictability over the course of their education.

How will our idea be paid for? It would be paid with Proposition 30 funds that the voters passed last November. It is a statewide tax increase to generate $50 billion in new revenue over seven years for public education. Although I believe we could have protected education by cutting spending in other areas and growing the economy, the voters sided with the Governor. The election is over and we should uphold the people’s will.
When campaigning for Proposition 30 at college campuses throughout the state, the Governor promised that students would see relief if they voted for his measure. However, if you read the fine print of the proposition, it leaves a loophole for spendthrift politicians to use the money for other programs. While there is a provision to ensure new revenue flows directly to schools, there isanother provision in the measure which allows the Legislature to reduce current General Fund dollars for K-14 education.
Even more problematic is the fact that funding increases for UC or CSU campuses are NOT guaranteed, despite what supporters of the measure said to students during the campaign. While the Governor increases funding for higher education in his budget, it is not guaranteed money and the Legislature can rescind it on a simple majority vote.

Our students deserve better. For far too long, politicians across the ideological spectrum have made promises that they did not keep. By passing AB 67, we would ensure that the voters’ will is upheld.

As a UC graduate and parent of a teenager, I understand how difficult it is for college students and families to pay tuition and fees that just keep going up and up. They deserve stability in the rates they pay each year. The voters’ have made their voices heard and freezing tuition should be easily agreeable.
Sacramento says “trust us” when it comes to Proposition 30, but Ronald Reagan once said, “trust, but verify.” The Governor and the Democrat legislative supermajority can verify their rhetoric by passing AB 67 without delay.
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