Back to California

AB-1818 • 2026

California State University: employer-employee relations: meeting and conferring.

California State University: employer-employee relations: meeting and conferring.

Budget Education Labor
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Ortega
Last action
2026-03-18
Official status
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (March 18). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill does not provide specific details on how the changes will affect meetings and agreements in practice.

California State University: Meeting and Conferring Rules

This bill changes rules about how California State University talks with employee groups, removing requirements for written agreements that need legislative approval or funding.

What This Bill Does

  • Removes the rule requiring written agreements between the university and employee groups to be approved by the Legislature if they require budgetary action.
  • Eliminates the requirement to send requests for funding or new laws to the Governor, Legislature, or other agencies when these agreements need more money.
  • Specifies that even though some rules about meeting and conferring are removed, the university still has to follow any deals it made with employee groups in the past.

Who It Names or Affects

  • California State University
  • Employee organizations at California State University

Terms To Know

Collectively bargained agreement
An agreement made between a labor organization and an employer that sets terms for employment, like pay and working conditions.
Meeting and conferring
The process where employers and employee groups talk about work-related issues and try to reach agreements.

Limits and Unknowns

  • Does not specify how the changes will affect specific meetings or agreements.
  • It is unclear what happens if the Legislature does not fund agreements that need money from the state budget after this bill passes.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-18 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (March 18). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  2. 2026-03-18 California Legislative Information

    Coauthors revised.

  3. 2026-02-23 California Legislative Information

    Referred to Com. on P. E. & R.

  4. 2026-02-11 California Legislative Information

    From printer. May be heard in committee March 13.

  5. 2026-02-10 California Legislative Information

    Read first time. To print.

Official Summary Text

AB 1818, as introduced, Ortega.
California State University: employer-employee relations: meeting and conferring.
Existing law grants to higher education employees the right to form, join, and participate in the activities of employee organizations for purposes of representation on all matters of employer-employee relations and for the purpose of meeting and conferring.
Existing law, for the California State University, prohibits written memoranda reached that require budgetary or curative action by the Legislature or other agencies from being effective unless that action has been taken, and requires an appropriate request for financing or budgetary funding for all state-funded employees or for necessary legislation to be forwarded to the Legislature and the Governor or other funding agencies. Existing law requires the entire memoranda to be referred back to the parties for further meeting and conferring when the memoranda require legislative action and the
Legislature or the Governor fail to fully fund the memoranda or take the requisite curative action, except as specified.
This bill would delete the above-described prohibition and requirements relating to written memoranda of the California State University.
Existing law provides that, for the California State University, the duty to meet and confer in good faith requires the parties to begin negotiations before the adoption of the final budget for the ensuing year sufficiently in advance of the adoption date, and requires the California State University to maintain close liaison with the Department of Finance and the Legislature relative to the meeting and conferring on provisions of the written memoranda that have fiscal ramifications. Existing law requires the Governor to appoint one representative to attend the meeting and conferring and authorizes the Speaker of the Assembly and the Senate Committee on Rules to each
appoint one representative to attend the meeting and conferring to advise on the Legislature’s views on matters that would require an appropriation or legislative action.
This bill would specify that those provisions related to the duty to meet and confer in good faith do not relieve the California State University from complying with its obligations under a collectively bargained agreement negotiated with a labor organization and duly ratified by the parties.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
Download Bill PDF