Aging buildings, failing infrastructure, earthquake safety issues, and a severe lack of campus housing are straining California’s public higher education systems. As they face high-cost fixes, lawmakers have introduced a bond bill that ambitiously intends to fund both the modernization of academic facilities and the addition of affordable student housing throughout the state.
The College Health and Safety Bond Act of 2026, AB 48, would start to address a growing $17 billion maintenance backlog within California’s university systems and the need for more affordable student housing in the state. The bill’s lead author, Assemblymember David Alvarez, a Democrat from San Diego, said it likely won’t include a dollar amount for the bond until it goes to the Senate next year to give the three public higher education systems in California time to report how much they need and a plan for spending it. If passed by the state Legislature, the bond would be placed on the November 2026 ballot for voters to decide.
If an education bond measure sounds familiar, here is why: In the November 2024 general election, Californians passed Proposition 2, which authorized $8.5 million in bonds for public K12 schools and $1.5 billion for community colleges. Although lawmakers originally included the University of California and Cal State systems in the measure, they were later excluded to cap the total bond amount at $10 billion.
Read more at CalMatters.
