Assemblyman Marc Berman’s college car camping bill advances

Berman, D-Palo Alto, acknowledged his proposal is not a perfect solution to a severe affordability problem facing tens of thousands of students across the state, but suggested it can be a bridge until more sustainable housing is identified.

“This isn’t a small impact to somebody’s life. This is really serious and can really make their situation better than it currently is. Is it perfect? No. But I can’t ignore a short-term solution just because we are also working on the long-term solution.”

The proposal aims to mandate establishment of safe spaces at community colleges where students struggling to afford the cost of living can stay overnight in their cars. College boards would also be required to develop implementation plans accounting for accessible bathroom facilities, security protocol, hours of operation, overnight parking rules and more.

The bill previously passed out of the Assembly Higher Education Committee and most recently cleared the Appropriations Committee, which examines legislation expected to cost $150,000 or more. Under the approval, it will head to the Assembly floor, where it has two months to advance onto the Senate education committee.

Berman expressed his enthusiasm for the bill’s continued success.

“We were very happy,” he said.

Since the bill was proposed, Berman has engaged in a series of conversation with education officials who maintain reservations about the cost for implementation. Acknowledging the likely sizable expense facing districts, Berman said it is a comparatively small price to pay for helping an estimated 80,000 students across the state who slept in their cars last year.

Locally, Berman met with Maurice Goodman, president of the San Mateo County Community College District Board of Trustees, to examine their differences of opinion on the matter.

Since the initial conversation, the issue carried to the district Board of Trustees during a meeting Wednesday, May 15, when students, officials and administrators continued the dialogue.

Over the months since its introduction, Goodman said his position on the legislation has evolved to a point where he appreciates the effort to support the many county students feeling pinched by the affordable housing crisis. Though he still takes issue with specifics of the proposal, Goodman said he admires its effectiveness in fueling a conversation around supporting homeless community college students in his district.

“For me, the sense of urgency and focus on accountability locally at the different colleges is tremendous,” said Goodman, lauding the work of district officials and students to craft their own proposed forms of assistance for the housing insecure.

To that end, he said local officials discussed offering hotel vouchers, establishing a housing resource staff, revamping the district website to direct students to housing support services, offering housing scholarships and creating an emergency housing fund for students as possible local initiatives. No decision on the efforts were made at the meeting, but Goodman said the discussion will continue in future sessions.

In previous discussions, local community college officials also examined the viability of building campus housing for students, which could be a resource for some on the fringes of affordability.

For his part, Goodman said it is imperative local officials work alongside Berman’s legislation to propose viable alternatives if they plan to criticize the car camping bill.

“We have to go do what we can do if in fact we are going to have any critique of the legislation,” he said. “We need to be willing to do what needs to be done.”

For Berman, he said he looks forward to continuing the conversation around his proposal as the bill works through the legislative process.

“I’m sure there are things I still have to learn, and I want to make those conversations more in depth to get a better understanding and see other changes we can make to make this more palatable,” he said.

More broadly though, he maintained confidence the proposal could empower many students across the state to enjoy a safe place to stay overnight while they continue the search for more sustainable housing.

“This is something that could have a massive impact on tens of thousands of people while we work on the longer-term solutions,” he said.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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