Public postsecondary education: student employment.

The deadline for UC, CSU, and CCC to implement the bill was extended by one year, from January 6, 2026 to January 6, 2027.

Additional coauthors were added: Assembly Members Alvarez, Gipson, Michelle Rodriguez, and Zbur; Senators Durazo, Rubio, and Wiener (joining the original coauthor Senator Cervantes).

All provisions related to small business disaster relief were removed, including the legislative intent to establish an employee disaster relief program and the findings about the January 2025 wildfires in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

The urgency statute declaration was removed. The bill no longer takes effect immediately upon passage and no longer requires a two-thirds majority vote (now only a simple majority is needed).

The implementation deadline for the University of California, California State University, and California Community Colleges to comply with the student employment provisions was extended from January 6, 2026 to January 6, 2027.

Senator Cervantes was added as a coauthor of the bill.

Added Article 3.8 (Section 66029) to the Education Code, creating a new public postsecondary education provision alongside the existing disaster assistance provisions.

Includes the standard UC applicability clause: the article applies to UC unless found inapplicable, in which case it applies only to the extent the Regents of UC make it applicable by resolution.

Prohibits UC, CSU, and California Community Colleges from disqualifying a student from being hired for an employment position due to failure to provide proof of federal work authorization, with two exceptions: where required by federal law or as a condition of a grant funding the specific position.

Requires UC, CSU, and California Community Colleges to treat the federal prohibition on hiring undocumented noncitizens (8 U.S.C. Section 1324a(a)) as inapplicable because that provision does not apply to any branch of state government.

Provides that to the extent student employment is considered a 'benefit' under federal law, the statute constitutes authorization to provide that benefit for purposes of 8 U.S.C. Section 1621(d).

Requires UC, CSU, and California Community Colleges to implement the new article by January 6, 2026.

Added a state mandates reimbursement provision requiring reimbursement to local agencies and school districts if the Commission on State Mandates determines the act contains costs mandated by the state.

Fiscal notes changed from 'Fiscal committee: no' to 'Fiscal committee: yes' and 'State-mandated local program: no' to 'State-mandated local program: yes,' reflecting the new obligations imposed on community college districts.