CA AB 537

in committee

Community colleges: California College Promise.

California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · lower

Quick answers

Did CA AB 537 pass?

Not yet. CA AB 537 is in committee as of 2025-08-29 and has not come to a final vote. Latest recorded action (2025-08-29): In committee: Held under submission.

What is CA AB 537 about?

Existing law establishes the California College Promise, under the administration of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, to provide funding, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to each community college meeting prescribed requirements. Existing law authorizes a community college to use that funding to waive some or all of the fees for 2 academic years for first-time community college students and returning community college students, as defined, who are enrolled in 12 or more semester units or the equivalent, or less for students certified as "full time" by a staff person in the disabled student services program, as specified, and who complete and submit either a Free Application for Federal Student Aid or a California Dream Act application, except as provided. This bill would instead require, for purposes of eligibility for the California College Promise, that students be enrolled in 9 or more, rather than 12 or more, semester units or the equivalent, or less for a student certified as eligible, based on a commitment by the student that is analogous to the 9 semester unit or equivalent workload, by a staff person in the disabled student services program. The bill would additionally require, as a condition of participating in, and receiving funding for, the California College Promise, community colleges and community college districts to refrain from referring to any other student financial aid funding or program as the California College Promise, and require community colleges to provide a written notification to initial recipients of the California College Promise that includes specified information related to the 2 academic years of eligibility for the California College Promise.

Who sponsors CA AB 537?

Ahrens is the primary sponsor of CA AB 537.

Description

Introduced: 2025-05-23
Latest action: 2025-08-29 — In committee: Held under submission.
Bill type: bill
Last updated: —

Subjects

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

2025-02-11
Read first time. To print.
reading-1
2025-02-12
From printer. May be heard in committee March 14.
2025-02-24
Referred to Com. on HIGHER ED.
referral-committee
2025-04-23
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (April 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-05-07
In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
referral-committee
2025-05-23
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (May 23).
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage
2025-05-23
Assembly Rule 63 suspended. (Ayes 51. Noes 16. Page 1644.)
2025-05-23
Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2
2025-05-27
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2025-06-02
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 1903.)
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2025-06-03
In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
reading-1,referral-committee
2025-06-11
Referred to Com. on ED.
referral-committee
2025-06-27
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 1.) (June 25).
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,referral-committee
2025-06-30
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-07-14
In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.
referral-committee
2025-08-29
In committee: Held under submission.

Versions

02/11/25 - Introduced — 2025-02-11Compare
05/23/25 - Amended Assembly — 2025-05-23Compare
06/30/25 - Amended Senate — 2025-06-30Compare
AB537Compare
(document, no version)Compare

Documents

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Votes

Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2025-04-22 · pass · 9-0
Member-level votes (10)
- Patel: yes
- Boerner: yes
- Jeff Gonzalez: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Celeste Rodriguez: yes
- Fong: yes
- DeMaio: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Sharp-Collins: other
Do pass as amended.
2025-05-23 · pass · 11-0
Member-level votes (15)
- Calderon: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Hart: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Solache: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Fong: yes
- Ta: other
- Sanchez: other
- Dixon: other
- Tangipa: other
AB 537 Ahrens Assembly Third Reading
2025-06-03 · pass · 79-0
Member-level votes (79)
- Rivas: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Irwin: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Ward: yes
- Nguyen: yes
- Patel: yes
- Solache: yes
- Chen: yes
- Bonta: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- DeMaio: yes
- Celeste Rodriguez: yes
- Castillo: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Hadwick: yes
- Lee: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Michelle Rodriguez: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Patterson: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Papan: yes
- Jeff Gonzalez: yes
- Ransom: yes
- Wallis: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Davies: yes
- Macedo: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Berman: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Lackey: yes
- Bennett: yes
- Petrie-Norris: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Ellis: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Quirk-Silva: yes
- Soria: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Gipson: yes
- Alvarez: yes
- Hoover: yes
- Ta: yes
- Zbur: yes
- Flora: yes
- Valencia: yes
- Addis: yes
- Garcia: yes
- Gallagher: yes
- Krell: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Blanca Rubio: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Gabriel: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Fong: yes
- Ramos: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Alanis: yes
- Haney: yes
- Hart: yes
- Boerner: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Bains: yes
Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2025-06-25 · pass · 6-1
Member-level votes (7)
- Cortese: yes
- Laird: yes
- Pérez: yes
- Choi: yes
- Gonzalez: yes
- Ochoa Bogh: yes
- Cabaldon: no
Placed on suspense file
2025-07-14 · pass · 7-0
Member-level votes (7)
- Cabaldon: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Seyarto: yes

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB537

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T01:34:27.960412Z

Inspect retained evidence for changes recorded after evidence tracking began:

Source and document changes Status and relationship changes

Use this data

Every field on this page is available from the free public API — no key or licence required. Fetch this bill as JSON: GET /api/v1/bills?jurisdiction=CA&identifier=AB 537. See the API docs or the MCP server for AI assistants.

Known limitations

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