Bill Commons

CA AB 681

enacted

California DREAM Loan Program: limits.

California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · lower

Quick answers

Did CA AB 681 pass?

Yes. CA AB 681 has been enacted into law as of 2025-10-13. Latest recorded action (2025-10-13): Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 702, Statutes of 2025.

What is CA AB 681 about?

Existing law establishes the California DREAM Loan Program, which authorizes a student attending a participating campus of the University of California or California State University to receive a loan, referred to as a DREAM loan, if the student satisfies certain requirements. Existing law prohibits a student from borrowing more than $4,000 within a single academic year and more than $40,000 in the aggregate under the program. Existing law prohibits a student enrolled in an undergraduate program from borrowing more than $20,000 as an undergraduate student and prohibits a student enrolled in a graduate program from borrowing more than $20,000 as a graduate student. This bill would instead prohibit a student enrolled in an undergraduate program from borrowing more than $4,000 within a single academic year, and a student enrolled in a graduate program from borrowing more than $20,500 within a single academic year. The bill would increase the aggregate limit under the program for a student enrolled in a graduate program to $118,500 as a graduate student, while maintaining the $20,000 aggregate limit under the program for a student enrolled in an undergraduate program, thereby increasing the overall aggregate limit under the program for a student who receives a DREAM loan for both undergraduate and graduate enrollment to $138,500.

Who sponsors CA AB 681?

Elhawary is the primary sponsor of CA AB 681.

Description

Existing law establishes the California DREAM Loan Program, which authorizes a student attending a participating campus of the University of California or California State University to receive a loan, referred to as a DREAM loan, if the student satisfies certain requirements. Existing law prohibits a student from borrowing more than $4,000 within a single academic year and more than $40,000 in the aggregate under the program. Existing law prohibits a student enrolled in an undergraduate program from borrowing more than $20,000 as an undergraduate student and prohibits a student enrolled in a graduate program from borrowing more than $20,000 as a graduate student. This bill would instead prohibit a student enrolled in an undergraduate program from borrowing more than $4,000 within a single academic year, and a student enrolled in a graduate program from borrowing more than $20,500 within a single academic year. The bill would increase the aggregate limit under the program for a student enrolled in a graduate program to $118,500 as a graduate student, while maintaining the $20,000 aggregate limit under the program for a student enrolled in an undergraduate program, thereby increasing the overall aggregate limit under the program for a student who receives a DREAM loan for both undergraduate and graduate enrollment to $138,500.

Introduced
Latest action
2025-10-13 — Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 702, Statutes of 2025.
Bill type
bill
Last updated

Subjects

Sponsors

  • Elhawaryauthor

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

  1. 2025-02-14

    Read first time. To print.

    reading-1

  2. 2025-02-15

    From printer. May be heard in committee March 17.

  3. 2025-03-03

    Referred to Com. on HIGHER ED.

    referral-committee

  4. 2025-03-19

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 8. Noes 2.) (March 18). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee

  5. 2025-04-09

    From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 10. Noes 4.) (April 9).

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  6. 2025-04-10

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1,reading-2,reading-3

  7. 2025-05-05

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 61. Noes 10. Page 1419.)

    passage,reading-1,reading-3

  8. 2025-05-06

    In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

    reading-1,referral-committee

  9. 2025-05-14

    Referred to Com. on ED.

    referral-committee

  10. 2025-06-11

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 1.) (June 11). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee

  11. 2025-06-23

    In committee: Referred to suspense file.

    referral-committee

  12. 2025-08-29

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1,reading-2,reading-3

  13. 2025-08-29

    From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (August 29).

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  14. 2025-09-04

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 30. Noes 9. Page 2516.).

    passage,reading-1,reading-3

  15. 2025-09-04

    In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling.

    committee-passage

  16. 2025-09-11

    Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.

    executive-receipt

  17. 2025-10-13

    Approved by the Governor.

    executive-signature

  18. 2025-10-13

    Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 702, Statutes of 2025.

    became-law

Versions

Documents

Votes

  • Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]

    2025-03-18 · pass · 8-2

    Member-level votes (10)
    • Boerner: yes
    • Muratsuchi: yes
    • Patel: yes
    • Jackson: yes
    • Jeff Gonzalez: yes
    • Celeste Rodriguez: yes
    • Fong: yes
    • Sharp-Collins: yes
    • DeMaio: no
    • Essayli: no
  • Do pass.

    2025-04-09 · pass · 10-4

    Member-level votes (15)
    • Mark González: yes
    • Pacheco: yes
    • Solache: yes
    • Hart: yes
    • Wicks: yes
    • Arambula: yes
    • Fong: yes
    • Calderon: yes
    • Elhawary: yes
    • Caloza: yes
    • Sanchez: no
    • Ta: no
    • Dixon: no
    • Hadwick: no
    • Pellerin: other
  • AB 681 Elhawary Assembly Third Reading

    2025-05-05 · pass · 61-10

    Member-level votes (79)
    • Rivas: yes
    • Haney: yes
    • Papan: yes
    • Wallis: yes
    • Jackson: yes
    • Caloza: yes
    • Patel: yes
    • Schultz: yes
    • Wicks: yes
    • Irwin: yes
    • Pacheco: yes
    • Zbur: yes
    • Fong: yes
    • Ransom: yes
    • Solache: yes
    • Soria: yes
    • Boerner: yes
    • Krell: yes
    • Celeste Rodriguez: yes
    • Lowenthal: yes
    • Mark González: yes
    • Ávila Farías: yes
    • Bonta: yes
    • Alvarez: yes
    • Kalra: yes
    • Addis: yes
    • Muratsuchi: yes
    • Lee: yes
    • Sharp-Collins: yes
    • Rogers: yes
    • McKinnor: yes
    • Alanis: yes
    • Connolly: yes
    • Wilson: yes
    • Bauer-Kahan: yes
    • Carrillo: yes
    • Valencia: yes
    • Elhawary: yes
    • Jeff Gonzalez: yes
    • Michelle Rodriguez: yes
    • Nguyen: yes
    • Bennett: yes
    • Garcia: yes
    • Quirk-Silva: yes
    • Calderon: yes
    • Blanca Rubio: yes
    • Harabedian: yes
    • Hart: yes
    • Stefani: yes
    • Bryan: yes
    • Davies: yes
    • Gabriel: yes
    • Ortega: yes
    • Ward: yes
    • Ramos: yes
    • Pellerin: yes
    • Gipson: yes
    • Aguiar-Curry: yes
    • Arambula: yes
    • Ahrens: yes
    • Berman: yes
    • Macedo: no
    • Hadwick: no
    • Sanchez: no
    • Ta: no
    • Patterson: no
    • Lackey: no
    • DeMaio: no
    • Tangipa: no
    • Dixon: no
    • Gallagher: no
    • Castillo: other
    • Petrie-Norris: other
    • Hoover: other
    • Chen: other
    • Bains: other
    • Schiavo: other
    • Ellis: other
    • Flora: other
  • Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]

    2025-06-11 · pass · 5-1

    Member-level votes (7)
    • Laird: yes
    • Cortese: yes
    • Pérez: yes
    • Cabaldon: yes
    • Ochoa Bogh: yes
    • Choi: no
    • Gonzalez: other
  • Placed on suspense file

    2025-06-23 · pass · 7-0

    Member-level votes (7)
    • Caballero: yes
    • Richardson: yes
    • Seyarto: yes
    • Dahle: yes
    • Cabaldon: yes
    • Grayson: yes
    • Wahab: yes
  • Do pass

    2025-08-29 · pass · 5-2

    Member-level votes (7)
    • Richardson: yes
    • Grayson: yes
    • Wahab: yes
    • Caballero: yes
    • Cabaldon: yes
    • Dahle: no
    • Seyarto: no
  • 3rd Reading AB681 Elhawary By Pérez

    2025-09-04 · pass · 30-9

    Member-level votes (40)
    • Stern: yes
    • Durazo: yes
    • Cabaldon: yes
    • McGuire: yes
    • Laird: yes
    • Limón: yes
    • Menjivar: yes
    • Wahab: yes
    • Rubio: yes
    • Pérez: yes
    • Cortese: yes
    • Gonzalez: yes
    • Umberg: yes
    • Allen: yes
    • Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
    • Richardson: yes
    • Blakespear: yes
    • Arreguín: yes
    • Hurtado: yes
    • Padilla: yes
    • Caballero: yes
    • Weber Pierson: yes
    • Ashby: yes
    • Ochoa Bogh: yes
    • Archuleta: yes
    • Grayson: yes
    • Wiener: yes
    • Cervantes: yes
    • McNerney: yes
    • Becker: yes
    • Niello: no
    • Grove: no
    • Jones: no
    • Alvarado-Gil: no
    • Valladares: no
    • Dahle: no
    • Seyarto: no
    • Strickland: no
    • Choi: no
    • Reyes: other

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

Attribution

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

Inspect retained evidence for changes recorded after evidence tracking began:

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 681. See the API docs or the MCP server for AI assistants.

Known limitations

  • Sponsor party and chamber affiliation are not yet captured by this API.
  • Committee referrals are not yet captured.
  • Some documents have no extracted text yet, so version comparison may be limited.

See the methodology page for data sources and limitations.