A Frugal Veto at a Time of Abundance
Sara Weissman
October 13, 2021
California governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill to extend access to the state’s financial aid program to about 160,000 more college students. The governor cited the high costs of the measure, which was widely supported by state lawmakers.
California higher education leaders and advocates, still riding high from a recent string of legislative wins on education funding, were dealt a blow when Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a major reform bill that would have expanded the state financial aid program to hundreds of thousands more students.
Assembly Bill 1456 would have eliminated some barriers that barred students from guaranteed aid — such as a GPA verification requirement for community college students — and simplified the overall structure of the program. The bill had unanimous support among lawmakers and would have extended aid to about 160,000 students through the Cal Grant program, a state financial aid program for students in the California State University, University of California or California Community College systems, or qualifying independent and career colleges or technical schools in the state.
But Newsom, who vetoed the bill Friday, said the cost of such a major expansion was too high.
