The California State Legislature approved a state budget Monday to increase the UC’s funding by approximately $350 million for the upcoming fiscal year.
Legislators will negotiate with Gov. Gavin Newsom on provisional disagreements until the new fiscal year begins July 1 – the date by which he must sign the budget.
The budget, which the legislature passed on California’s Constitutional deadline, maintained the University’s original funding increase, which Newsom proposed in both January and May. The budget also kept a nearly $130 million deferral to the UC until the 2027-28 fiscal year.
[Related: Gov. Gavin Newsom preserves $350 million UC funding increase in May budget revision]
The funding increase aligns with the existing UC and California State University compact that promises the universities a 5% annual budget increase over a five year period, according to EdSource. UC and CSU schools must raise graduation rates and enroll more California residents in exchange for the funding.
“The legislative plan would also fund the fifth year of the UC compact/agreement, providing a 5% increase in base funding ($254 million),” said Erik Saucedo, a senior policy analyst for the California Budget and Policy Center, in an emailed statement. “However, prior deferrals of base funding included in the 2025 budget are maintained in the plan.”
The legislature’s budget agreement pledges to protect funding for UC and CSU campuses and expand Cal Grant for students up to age 30, said John Laird, chair of the senate budget and fiscal review committee, in a Thursday press release.
Cal Grant provides financial aid to college students enrolled in the UC, CSU or California Community College systems, as well as some other qualifying institutions, according to the California Student Aid Commission’s website.
While negotiations with the governor are still ongoing, Saucedo said in the emailed statement that he expects minimal changes to the initial UC funding proposal because the legislature approved most of Newsom’s proposals pertaining to those funds.
The state legislature’s plan comes after the Trump administration froze $584 million in UCLA’s research grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and United States Department of Energy in July, alleging that the university allowed antisemitism, affirmative action and “men to participate in women’s sports.”
A federal judge temporarily restored most of the grants in August and September. The judge also separately ruled in November that the Trump administration could not freeze, or threaten to freeze, the UC’s federal research funding.
[Related: Federal government suspends research funding to UCLA]
A spokesperson from the UC Office of the President said in an emailed statement that the University appreciates the funding included in this version of the budget.
“In the face of the federal funding uncertainty and rising operational and labor costs, this proposed investment helps UC continue delivering the education, research, and innovation California depends on,” the spokesperson said in the statement. “The Legislature’s budget would support the University’s enrollment of a record 200,000 California residents and its efforts to make a UC education more affordable.”
The legislature’s budget also includes $5 million for UCLA’s Center on Reproductive Health, Law and Policy, a think tank and research center that aims to address national issues surrounding abortion access.
Assemblymember Dawn Addis, the chair of the Assembly Subcommittee on Health, said in an emailed statement that restorations in healthcare funding are vital.
Some key differences from the state legislature’s plan in Newsom’s May revision include reduced healthcare cuts, increased childcare and TK-12 funding and more direct funding to counties, according to CalMatters.
“Vulnerable Californians depend on the healthcare system California has built and expanded,” Addis said in the statement. “We are funding the programs that protects access to care for millions of Californians, including women, seniors, children, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, and more.”
