Legislative Update

View the legislative bills report here. (updated May 21, 2026)

May 22, 2026

Legislative Update

Governor Releases May Revision 

Last Thursday, May 14, 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom presented his final May Revision as Governor of California. ACCCA partnered with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, the Association of Chief Business Officials, and the Community College League of California on a joint analysis of the May Revision, which can be found here.

The next step in the legislative process is for the Legislature to approve its version of the State Budget by June 15, 2026. The Assembly and Senate Budget subcommittees have already started convening to vet the Governor’s May Revision and establish their own priorities. Helping assist in that process, as always, is analysis from the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO), the Legislature’s nonpartisan policy and fiscal advisor.

LAO Analysis on the 2026-27 May Revision 

On Tuesday, May 19, 2026, the LAO released an analysis of the Governor’s May Revision for TK-14 education, which reflects an improved outlook for Proposition 98 funding compared to the January Governor’s Budget proposal. The May Revision increases Proposition 98 estimates by approximately $6.4 billion across 2024-25 through 2026-27, largely due to stronger-than-expected General Fund revenues, though somewhat offset by lower local property tax estimates. As a result, the administration proposes a larger TK-14 education spending plan while continuing to prioritize ongoing funding commitments and selected one-time investments.

For California Community Colleges (CCCs), the May Revision maintains several ongoing funding augmentations, including a 2.87% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for the Student Centered Funding Formula (SCFF) and categorical programs, along with an additional 1.44% augmentation above the statutory COLA for the SCFF, intended in part to support the new requirement that schools and community colleges provide up to 14 weeks of paid pregnancy disability leave. The proposal also includes 0.5% enrollment growth funding for 2026-27 and an additional 1.0% enrollment growth augmentation for 2025-26, reflecting the administration’s expectation of continued enrollment recovery across the CCC system. Additional proposals support deferred maintenance and instructional equipment, student support programs, and selected statewide technology initiatives. The LAO notes that while the Proposition 98 outlook improved overall, much of the additional funding is effectively committed to existing obligations, enrollment adjustments, and programmatic cost increases, limiting the amount of discretionary funding available to community college districts (CCDs).

The LAO notes that although the Proposition 98 outlook improved overall, community colleges remain in a relatively constrained fiscal position compared to the TK-12 segment. Much of the additional funding is absorbed by higher apportionment costs, enrollment growth, and ongoing programmatic commitments, limiting the amount of discretionary funding available to CCDs. The LAO recommends that the Legislature carefully evaluate whether all proposed ongoing augmentations are sustainable given the state’s long-term fiscal outlook. Specifically, the LAO recommends adopting a cautious approach toward creating new ongoing commitments, prioritizing core operations and student support services, and considering whether some one-time proposals should be scaled back or deferred in order to preserve fiscal flexibility in future years. The LAO also encourages the Legislature to continue monitoring enrollment trends and CCD fiscal conditions closely, particularly given the uncertainty surrounding future state revenues and community college attendance recovery.

Next Steps

Over the next couple of weeks, the two houses will approve a legislative budget which will form the basis of the tri-party negotiations between the Governor and legislative leadership. We will keep you apprised of the progress of the State Budget in subsequent updates.