June 10, 2025
The Honorable Gavin Newsom
Governor
1021 O Street, Suite 9000
Sacramento, CA 95814
The Honorable Mike McGuire
President pro tempore of the Senate
1021 O Street, Suite 8518
Sacramento, CA 95814
The Honorable Robert Rivas
Speaker of the Assembly
1021 O Street, Suite 8330
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: Prevent Cuts to the CSU and UC Budgets
Dear Governor Newsom, Senate Pro Tem McGuire, and Speaker Rivas,
Inland Action is a non-profit, non-partisan corporation created in 1962. Our membership consists of corporations, businesses, and organizations whose leaders work for the economic well-being and betterment of the Inland Empire and the Southern California region.
We respectfully request that state funding for the California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) systems not be cut by the Governor’s proposed 3 percent, which represents a $144 million reduction for the CSU and a $130 million reduction for the UC system. We also share our concerns about Senate Bill 101 language that rejects the Governor’s May revise proposal to reduce the UC and CSU by 3% ongoing.
We recognize the fiscal challenges facing the state, but cutting CSU and UC funding will have long-term consequences for California’s workforce, economy, and communities. In the Inland Empire, these cuts would be particularly harmful. CSU San Bernardino and UC Riverside are critical institutions for regional progress—serving large numbers of first-generation and low-income students, driving research and innovation, and fueling workforce development in healthcare, education, clean energy, goods movement, and public service.
Fully funding CSU and UC will allow both systems to continue increasing graduation rates, expanding access to higher education, and ensuring fair compensation for faculty and staff. CSU serves over 460,000 students annually and contributes $15 billion to the state’s economy every year. The UC system serves more than 295,000 students, employs 265,000 faculty and staff, and has 2.0 million alumni living and working globally. UC alone generates $82 billion in national economic activity, with UC-related spending supporting more than 500,000 jobs across California.
In the Inland Empire, CSU and UC campuses are powerful engines of upward mobility, providing local students with affordable, high-quality education close to home. These institutions not only educate the region’s future workforce, but also serve as hubs of economic growth, community partnerships, and research innovation tailored to local challenges and opportunities.
We are excited about the future of CSU and UC, which welcomed the largest freshman class in their history in 2024, are expanding academic offerings in alignment with industry needs, and are opening new enrollment pathways to increase equity in access. To maintain this momentum and meet the demands of a growing region like ours, it is essential that CSU and UC campuses are resourced appropriately.
CSU and UC represent the best of California—advancing social mobility, research, and workforce readiness. We are deeply concerned that the proposed cuts would cause irreparable harm, forcing individual campuses to slash up to $30 million from their budgets. This would diminish educational opportunities, hinder innovation, and weaken our state’s competitive edge.
Investing in CSU and UC must remain a top priority in the 2025-26 budget. For these reasons, we respectfully ask you to oppose the proposed budget reductions to both the UC and CSU systems.
Thank you for your consideration. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.
Sincerely,
Julie Michaels
Executive Director, Inland Action
cc: The Honorable Scott Wiener, Chair, Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review
The Honorable Jesse Gabriel, Chair, Assembly Committee on Budget
The Honorable John Laird, Chair, Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review,
Subcommittee #1
The Honorable David Alvarez, Chair, Assembly Committee on Budget, Subcommittee #3
Note – communication sent via email for each individual