SB 9, co-authored and sponsored by External Affairs Vice President Safeena Mecklai, calls upon the ASUC to express its position on Prop. 13 to the university and elected officials, including Gov. Jerry Brown.

The bill proposes a number of reforms to Prop. 13, including the regular reassessment of nonresidential commercial property, which would lead to at least $6 billion in additional revenue for state funding.

The bill attributes California’s dramatic higher education funding cuts to the state’s “inequitable tax structure.”

Supporters of Prop. 13 reform hope the additional revenue will help reverse a trend of deep cuts to state funding for higher education that have caused UC Berkeley’s tuition to rise from $6,654 in 2007 to $12,834 in 2013. The cuts have made it increasingly difficult for low- and middle-income students to attend college.

Jennie Yoon is the lead student government reporter. Contact her at jyoon@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter @jennieyoon_.

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