Article 1. Student Body Organizations of California Education Code >> Division 8. >> Title 3. >> Part 55. >> Chapter 3. >> Article 1.

(a) A student body organization may be established at any state university under the supervision of the university officials for the purpose of providing essential activities closely related to, but not normally included as a part of, the regular instructional program of the university. The organization may also operate a campus store, a cafeteria, and other projects not inconsistent with the purposes of the university, and property of the university may be leased to the organization for those purposes.
  (b) (1) The trustees may fix fees for voluntary membership in the organization established at a state university.
  (2) (A) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, if a student body organization is established at any state university, upon the favorable vote of two-thirds of the students voting in an election held for this purpose, in a manner that the trustees shall prescribe, and open to all regular students enrolled in the university, the trustees shall fix a membership fee which shall be required of all regular, limited, and special session students attending the university. No fees shall be charged to students registering solely in extension classes.
  (B) The trustees may approve an increase or decrease in the student body fee only after the fee increase or decrease has been approved by a majority of students voting in a referendum established for that purpose.
  (C) The required fee shall be subject to referendum at any time upon the presentation of a petition to the president of the university containing the signatures of 10 percent of the regularly enrolled students at the university. A successful referendum shall take effect with the beginning of the academic year following that in which the election was held.
  (D) Payment of membership fees pursuant to this section shall be a prerequisite to enrollment in the university, except that if sufficient funds are available, any state university student, subject to the regulations of the trustees establishing standards in that regard, may agree to work off the amount of the fee at the prevailing rate of the university for student assistants. The trustees may adopt regulations setting standards for determining which students shall be eligible to work off the amount of the fee.
  (c) The revenues raised pursuant to this section may, in addition to expenditures for other lawful purposes involved in the operations of the student body organization, be expended to provide for the support of governmental affairs representatives who may be attending upon the State Legislature or upon offices and agencies in the executive branch of the state government.
  (d) The trustees may fix a fee for voluntary membership in a statewide student organization that represents the students of the California State University and the student body organizations of the campuses of the California State University. The trustees shall provide students either the ability to affirmatively elect to pay this fee, or a clear and unambiguous means to decline the payment of this fee, each time the fee is assessed.

Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, except as provided pursuant to Section 89707.5 with respect to nonresident students who are citizens and residents of a foreign country and who are not citizens of the United States, student body organization membership fees authorized under the provisions of Section 89300 shall be collected by the officials of the campus of the California State University, together with all tuition and material and service fees, at the time of registration, except where a student loan or grant from a recognized training program or student aid program has been delayed and there is reasonable proof that the funds will be forthcoming. Exception may also be made where changes are made during the change of program period which result in a higher fee category than paid at the time of registration. All unexpended funds and money collected on behalf of, or by, student body organizations, except funds and money collected from commercial services as provided in Section 89905, shall, with the approval of an appropriate officer of the student body organization, be deposited in trust by the chief fiscal officer of the campus. The money shall, subject to the approval of the trustees, be deposited or invested in any one or more of the following ways:
  (a) Deposits in trust accounts of the centralized State Treasury system pursuant to Sections 16305 to 16305.7, inclusive, of the Government Code or in the California State University Trust Fund or in a bank or banks whose accounts are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
  (b) Investment certificates or withdrawable shares in state-chartered savings and loan associations and savings accounts of federal savings and loan associations, if the associations are doing business in this state and have their accounts insured by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation and if any money so invested or deposited is invested or deposited in certificates, shares, or accounts fully covered by the insurance.
  (c) Purchase of any of the securities authorized for investment by Section 16430 of the Government Code or investment by the Treasurer in those securities.
  (d) Participation in funds which are exempt from federal income tax pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and which are open exclusively to nonprofit colleges, universities, and independent schools.
  (e) Investment certificates or withdrawable shares in federal or state credit unions, if the credit unions are doing business in this state and have their accounts insured by the National Credit Union Administration and if any money so invested or deposited is invested or deposited in certificates, shares, or accounts fully covered by such insurance. All moneys received by a state university from any agency of the state or federal government for the payment of student body organizations membership fees of students attending the state university shall be deposited or invested as provided above.

All money collected by a campus of the California State University on behalf of a student body organization under Sections 89046, 89047, 89300, 89301, and 89750, shall be available for such purposes of the student body organization as are approved by the trustees. The chief fiscal officer of each campus of the California State University shall be custodian of these moneys and provide the necessary accounting records and controls thereof. These funds may be expended by the custodian only upon the submission of an appropriate claim schedule by officers of the student body organization. The campus of the California State University shall be reimbursed by the student body organization an amount to cover the cost of the custodial and accounting services provided by the campus of the California State University in connection with these funds. Student body funds used for scholarships, grants-in-aid, stipends, loans, and similar expenditures shall conform to the regulations of the trustees. The funds shall be approved by the financial aids office before the funds are expended and shall be reflected on the student's record kept in that office. The student's financial aid record shall include all the funds received by the student.

The trustees may provide for the construction of a building to serve as a student body center to be financed entirely or in part by fees required of students as authorized in Section 89304 pursuant to the provisions of the State University Revenue Bond Act of 1947.

(a) Upon the favorable vote of two-thirds of the students voting in an election held for the purpose at a state university, in the manner the trustees shall prescribe, and open to all regular students enrolled in the state university, the trustees are authorized to establish, in addition to any other student fee the trustees are authorized to establish, a building and operating fee, not to exceed forty dollars ($40) per student per academic year, which shall be required of all students attending the state university. All unexpended funds and money collected by any state university under this section shall be available for financing, operating, and constructing a student body center. All unexpended funds collected by any state university under this section shall be deposited or invested in trust by the chief fiscal officer of that state university in any one or more of the following ways:
  (1) Deposits in trust accounts of the centralized treasury system pursuant to Sections 16305 to 16305.7, inclusive, of the Government Code or in the California State University Trust Fund or in a bank or banks whose accounts are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
  (2) Investment certificates or withdrawable shares in state-chartered savings and loan associations and savings accounts of federal savings and loan associations, if the associations are doing business in this state and have their accounts insured by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation.
  (3) Purchase of any of the securities authorized for investment by Section 16430 of the Government Code or investment by the Treasurer in those securities.
  (4) Participation in funds that are exempt from federal income tax pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code and that are open exclusively to nonprofit colleges, universities, and independent schools.
  (5) Investment certificates or withdrawable shares in federal or state credit unions, if the credit unions are doing business in this state and have their accounts insured by the National Credit Union Administration and if any money so invested or deposited is invested or deposited in certificates, shares, or accounts fully covered by that insurance.
  (b) All revenues received by the trustees under this section may be pledged for the acquisition, construction, and improvement of student body center projects pursuant to the State University Revenue Bond Act of 1947 (Article 2 (commencing with Section 90010) of Chapter 8), and may also be pledged to supplement other revenue funded projects relating to debt obligations issued by the trustees pursuant to the State University Revenue Bond Act of 1947. Nothing in this section shall be construed as altering or permitting a change in the pledge of student body center fee revenues established in connection with debt obligations issued prior to the enactment of this section and pursuant to the State University Revenue Bond Act of 1947.
  (c) The chief fiscal officer of each state university shall be custodian funds collected by a state university under this section, and shall provide the necessary accounting records and controls thereof. The state university shall be reimbursed from these funds in an amount to cover the cost of the custodial and accounting services provided by the state university in connection with these funds.
  (d) The funds collected by a state university under this section may be expended by the custodian only upon the submission of an appropriate claim schedule by an elected representative of the student body or his or her appointee.