California Governor Gavin Newsom has taken a pause from his nationwide tour to “save democracy” to do what he does best – over legislate.
Newsom Passes Massive Amounts of New Legislation
Over the past couple of weeks, Newsom actually stuck around the state he governs to sign hundreds of bills into law before the deadline last Saturday.
Newsom vetoed over 100 pieces of legislation, which seems like a lot until you consider that the California Legislature passed over 1,000, 900 of which made it to Newsom’s desk for his John Hancock. In usual Newsom fashion, he passed many more than he denied, including 56 directed toward housing issues alone.
He said the housing bills aim to “incentivize and reduce barriers to housing and support the development of more affordable homes.”
Mexican Residents Receive In-State Tuition in California
Another notable bill gaining media attention is a law that will make low-income Mexican residents living near the border eligible for in-state tuition rates at certain community colleges.
According to a local ABC report, the legislation applies to low-income Mexicans who live within 45 miles of the California-Mexico border and want to attend a participating community college in Southern California. It is a pilot program that will launch next year and run until 2029.
Proponents of the bill say it will help the state fill positions that require skilled labor.
“This pilot program can unlock a significant untapped resource to prepare a more diverse population among our workforce,” said Assemblymember David Alvarez (D.), who authored the proposal.
When he introduced the bill back in February, Alvarez stated, “We live in a dynamic border region where we need to educate more students to fill the jobs required for growth.”
Others state that the high cost of living in California forces families to live across the border even though they may work in the U.S.
“We want to make them feel that they really are a part of our community and I am hoping that it will bring in so much untapped potential that we see across the border,” said Chula Vista Councilwoman Andrea Cardenas, according to the LA Times. “Because of the price of housing and inflation people are moving across the border but working over here.”
California Isn’t Leading the Way
Before you go thinking this was all Governor Newsom’s idea, it was another border state that led the way in allowing students living in Mexico to waive nonresident tuition. And – hold onto your hats – that state was actually Texas.
California took note of a regulation that’s been on the books in Texas for decades that permits “a small number of individuals with financial need, who are citizens of Mexico, to enroll in any public university in Texas while paying the resident tuition rate.”
Applicants are limited to state-funded public universities only. Reportedly over 70,000 students in Texas have graduated through the program.
New Mexico and Arizona also offer some Mexican citizens in-state tuition.
This cuts into the claim that California is on the “cutting edge” of all progressive legislation – particularly when a state like Texas has gone before.
It also shatters the illusion that Texas hates immigrants and wants to shut them out of the country entirely.
Moral of the story? Don’t believe everything the media tells you.
Jennifer Galardi is the politics and culture editor and opinion writer for 19FortyFive.com. She has a Master’s in Public Policy from Pepperdine University and produces and hosts the podcast Connection with conversations that address health, culture, politics, and policy. In a previous life, she wrote for publications in the health, fitness, and nutrition space. In addition, her pieces have been published in the Epoch Times and Pepperdine Policy Review. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
