May Revision boosts community college COLA, proposes paid pregnancy leave and targets enrollment growth
May 21, 2026 | California State Senate, Senate, Legislative, California
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Philip Osborne of the Department of Finance told the subcommittee the May Revision raises the student‑centered funding formula (SCFF) cost‑of‑living adjustment from 2.41% to 4.31%, reflecting an ongoing Prop 98 General Fund increase of $197,700,000 and a total SCFF COLA of roughly $438.3 million for 2026–27. He said 1.44 percentage points of that increase would be treated as discretionary and 2.87 percentage points as the mandatory portion.
The May Revision also proposes a new statutory requirement that community college employees be eligible for up to 14 weeks of paid pregnancy disability leave and allocates a portion of the discretionary COLA (the administration estimates roughly $20–23 million for community colleges) to reimburse districts for implementation costs. "We calculated an amount of the low twenties, 20 to 23,000,000," Osborne said of the estimated system cost.
Imran Majid, director of fiscal advocacy for the Chancellor's Office, and other system representatives urged additional investments to support Vision 2030 priorities, deferred maintenance, student support services, and expanded enrollment growth; Majid asked the committee to consider funding 3.5% enrollment growth over two years to reflect projected demand. The Legislative Analyst's Office recommended prioritizing the statutory 2.87% COLA portion first and then deciding how to allocate discretionary funds, noting tradeoffs between a super‑COLA and targeted funding for enrollment growth or categorical programs.
The committee pressed the administration on equity and implementation details. Several senators expressed concern that hold‑harmless and basic aid districts would be required to implement paid pregnancy leave but might not receive offsetting operational dollars, leaving those districts to absorb costs. Department of Finance staff said they were open to conversations on addressing hold‑harmless inequities and noted timing considerations for labor contract updates if a trailer bill is enacted with an effective date of July 1, 2026.
No final decisions were made; members requested additional data on enrollment growth patterns, the distributional impacts of COLA versus targeted growth funding, and implementation options for paid pregnancy disability leave.
The May Revision also proposes a new statutory requirement that community college employees be eligible for up to 14 weeks of paid pregnancy disability leave and allocates a portion of the discretionary COLA (the administration estimates roughly $20–23 million for community colleges) to reimburse districts for implementation costs. "We calculated an amount of the low twenties, 20 to 23,000,000," Osborne said of the estimated system cost.
Imran Majid, director of fiscal advocacy for the Chancellor's Office, and other system representatives urged additional investments to support Vision 2030 priorities, deferred maintenance, student support services, and expanded enrollment growth; Majid asked the committee to consider funding 3.5% enrollment growth over two years to reflect projected demand. The Legislative Analyst's Office recommended prioritizing the statutory 2.87% COLA portion first and then deciding how to allocate discretionary funds, noting tradeoffs between a super‑COLA and targeted funding for enrollment growth or categorical programs.
The committee pressed the administration on equity and implementation details. Several senators expressed concern that hold‑harmless and basic aid districts would be required to implement paid pregnancy leave but might not receive offsetting operational dollars, leaving those districts to absorb costs. Department of Finance staff said they were open to conversations on addressing hold‑harmless inequities and noted timing considerations for labor contract updates if a trailer bill is enacted with an effective date of July 1, 2026.
No final decisions were made; members requested additional data on enrollment growth patterns, the distributional impacts of COLA versus targeted growth funding, and implementation options for paid pregnancy disability leave.
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