Postsecondary education: mixed-use intersegmental educational facility in the City of Chula Vista: South County Higher Education Planning Task Force.

The measure authored by Assembly Member Alvarez would establish the South County Higher Education Planning Task Force to evaluate the feasibility of a mixed-use intersegmental educational facility in the City of Chula Vista, aimed at expanding postsecondary access and addressing regional equity through cross‑system collaboration. The core mandate is to examine governance models, site and infrastructure needs, funding mechanisms and partnerships, statutory barriers and necessary changes, and to conduct public engagement. The task force is directed to convene its first meeting on or before July 1, 2026 and to submit a report of findings and recommendations to the Legislature’s policy and fiscal committees on or before July 1, 2027, with the provision that the new authority would be repealed on January 1, 2031.

The bill curates a diverse, regional membership for the task force, including at least one representative from San Diego State University (appointed by the CSU Chancellor), at least one representative from Southwestern College (appointed by the CCC Chancellor), at least one representative from the University of California, San Diego (appointed by the UC President), a representative from the City of Chula Vista, a representative from the Sweetwater Union High School District, a public member appointed by the City of Chula Vista, and representatives named by the Speaker of the Assembly and the President pro Tempore of the Senate. All members must be South County residents or individuals with a substantial interest in the area, and the chair is to be chosen by a majority vote of the members. The task force is charged with identifying governance structures, site and infrastructure scenarios, funding options, statutory barriers, and public-engagement strategies, and with convening its first meeting by the specified deadline.

In terms of process and oversight, the task force may request and receive information from key education and government entities, subject to standard transparency requirements, including the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. It must operate with a defined reporting timeline and adhere to Government Code requirements for its report formatting, while acknowledging that the section establishing the task force is repealed in 2031. The bill contemplates potential state-mandated local costs and provides for reimbursement to local agencies and school districts if such mandates are determined to exist, consistent with existing state-mandated local program provisions, though it does not itself provide an appropriation.

Finally, the measure presents a planning-oriented approach that does not create a funded program, campus, or immediate cross-segment operations. Its findings and directives are intended to inform future policy decisions or statutory changes, should the feasibility assessment yield actionable opportunities for a cross-segment educational facility in southern San Diego County. The accompanying findings frame the motivation as addressing access barriers and aligning with local workforce needs, while the sunset provision and open-meeting requirements structure the approach as a time-limited, consultative step within the broader policy landscape.