Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the largest budget in the history of California at $307.9 billion benefit­ing the Los Angeles Community College District.

Newsom signed Senate Bill 154, the California Budget Act of 2022, and Assembly Bill 183, the Higher Education Budget Trailer bill, transforming opportunities for gen­erations of students in California and delivering sweeping and his­toric investments in California’s 116 community colleges.

“Budgets are a reflection of our values, and they should center on the people who need help the most. That’s exactly what our budget has done this year for our community colleges through the Hire UP pro­gram, helping students exiting incarceration, former foster youth and those struggling to keep food on the table support themselves and their families while getting their degrees,” said Assemblyman Issac Bryan (D-Los Angeles). “We’re also investing in our green future. The LACCD California Center for Climate Change Education at West Los Angeles College will ensure that students have the resources and training they need to join the clean energy workforces and that current workers in oil and gas industries have realistic pathways to the careers of the future. We’re so proud to have brought these vital investments back to communities that need them the most.”

“Governor Newsom’s signing of this historic budget package is a landmark moment for equity in higher education in California,” LACCD Board President Dr. Gabriel Buelna said.

Assembly Bill 2425 establishes the five-year Hire UP Pilot Program, which provides stipends for formerly incarcerated individu­als enrolled in an educational or professional training program at ten community colleges.

Assembly Bill 2266 extends the California College Promise Program to returning full-time community college students. The program offers benefits such as two years of tuition-free education, pri­ority registration for classes; full-time enrollment; dedicated acade­mic counseling support; additional financial support to assist with transportation, books, or food; a laptop, and Wi-Fi connectivity; access to emergency aid funds; and a choice among hundreds of certifi­cates and associate degree pro­grams and university transfer.

Assembly Bill 1913 establishes the Los Angeles Community College District California Center for Climate Change Education. The bill recognizes the climate change and environmental studies associ­ate of arts degree offered by West Los Angeles College, the only asso­ciate of arts degree offered at a community college of its kind. The center will also serve as an educa­tional resource for community col­leges on climate change education. It will specifically focus on climate change as a global issue of equity and justice; building pathways that lead to certificates and degrees in climate change and employment opportunities; expanding intern­ships and apprenticeships in the equity, environmental justice and green jobs sectors; partnering with local and regional entities to sup­port the workforce training in green jobs sectors; and developing and sustaining an urban climate change sustainability conference.