Gavin Newsom signs California law to override court decision capping UC Berkeley enrollment

The California Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom moved with lightning speed on Monday to pass a bill that would prevent UC Berkeley from having to cut its student enrollment by several thousand.

Both the California State Assembly and the State Senate voted unanimously on a bill that would override a California Supreme Court decision upholding a lower court ruling that capped UC Berkeley enrollment at fall 2021 levels. The university said that it would have to cut enrollment by more than 2,600 students if the court decision was allowed to stand.

Senate Bill 118 changes the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, so that student enrollment, or changes in enrollment, by itself does not constitute a project subject to that law. It also applies retroactively, meaning it applies to the UC Berkeley case.

Newsom signed the bill into law Monday evening, just hours after its passage.

“I’m grateful to the Legislature for moving quickly on this critical issue — it sends a clear signal that California won’t let lawsuits get in the way of the education and dreams of thousands of students, our future leaders and innovators,” Newsom said in a statement.

It was a rare show of unanimous support in the Legislature, though lawmakers did disagree on how far they should go in reforming CEQA.

Some, like Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, called the bill “a very surgical approach,” while Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, said “Universities remain covered by CEQA and they should be.”

Others, like Assemblyman Vince Fong, R-Bakersfield, and Sen. Jim Nielsen, R-Red Bluff, said that this latest exception to CEQA illustrated the need to reform or replace the 52-year-old law.

Fong said that the last-minute bill “highlights the fact that CEQA is dated and broken,” while Nielsen said, “We need broad, deep CEQA reform, not picking around the edges.”

Other lawmakers used the occasion to lambaste those who use the legal system, and CEQA, to block critical projects such as housing and transportation infrastructure.

“In many ways, tragically, CEQA is the law that swallowed California,” said Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco.

A number of lawmakers called out so-called NIMBYs — short for Not In My Back Yard, or opponents of development projects — for jeopardizing the college prospects of of thousands of potential UC Berkeley students.

“5,000 students shouldn’t have to pay the price for misguided NIMBYism,” said Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, referencing the estimated number of students who would have their admission letters rescinded in order to make the court-mandated enrollment cuts.

The Legislature’s move to override the California Supreme Court’s decision drew condemnation from the group whose litigation led to the enrollment cap being put in place.

“We hope that Governor Newsom recognizes that SB 118 will hurt students more than help and not sign this bill. UC Berkeley does not have the capacity to handle more students, and more than 10% of current Berkeley students suffer homelessness during their education. In addition, more than 15% suffer from food insecurity,” said Phil Bokovoy, President of Save Berkeley’s Neighborhoods, in a statement. “We don’t want new students to have to live in cars, campers and hotel rooms like they are in Santa Barbara.”

Bokovoy said that he anticipates that SB 118 will result in more litigation, “and without the legislature imposing a legally binding requirement for UC to build housing before increasing enrollment, the housing crisis will get worse.”

This story was originally published March 14, 2022 at 4:19 PM.