LOS ANGELES — California lawmakers passed a bill Monday that would rescue UC Berkeley from a court-ordered enrollment freeze and steep admission cuts and allow the university to resume plans to enroll more than 5,000 first-year California students.
The bill will immediately take effect if signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has expressed support for UC Berkeley. If it becomes law, the measure would effectively end a frantic few weeks at one of the nation's most sought-after campuses during its critical admissions period. The court order over housing issues had threatened cuts and a major enrollment reconfiguration for first-year students, many who would have been forced online or given deferred admission offers.
The legislation would give the state's public colleges and universities 18 months to complete any court-ordered environmental review before being subject to a mandatory reduction or freeze in campus population. This change would have an immediate and retroactive effect for UC Berkeley, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) and Assembly Budget Chair Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) said in a statement Friday.
