In 2018, then Senator Jerry Hill took up our cause and successfully introduced legislation to extend the life of the pilot program by extending the sunset date. In 2019, Senator Hill took the next step by authoring legislation, SB 874, that was designed to make the 15 pilot programs permanent, by eliminating the sunset date, and also to expand this opportunity to all of California’s community colleges, via a rigorous review and approval process in the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. Unfortunately, with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, all non-essential legislation was eliminated from last year’s legislative session and SB 874 was one of the casualties.

For the 2021 legislative session, Assemblyman Jose Medina, chairman of the Committee on Higher Education has introduced Assembly Bill 927, which is essentially the same bill authored by Senator Hill in 2019.

The bill also incorporates many suggestions that were made in the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) reports on the baccalaureate pilot program. Assembly Bill 927 is now proceeding through the legislative process, beginning with the Assembly, moving to the Senate, and then being proposed to the Governor.