California’s senators agreed to expand the state’s largest educational financial aid program to cover military families who legally reside in California but are stationed out of state.
The bill, approved by the full Senate last week, expands the Cal Grant program to ensure it includes children of military families who are stationed outside of California but are still legal residents of the state.
According to Sen. Kelly Seyarto’s office, current law says dependents of a military member who has temporarily moved out of state due to official orders are not eligible for Cal Grants — even if the parents maintain a California residence and pay California income and property taxes.
A fact sheet for the bill called it an “oversight” that “creates inequitable higher education access for California families who have made a tremendous sacrifice to serve our country on active duty.”
“California law does not currently extend eligibility to these individuals, even though these families maintain legal residencies and pay taxes to the state,” said Sen. Kelly Seyarto, a Republican who authored the bill and represents Yorba Linda.
“Furthermore, California already recognizes these dependents for in-state tuition, so why would we not recognize them for state grant eligibility? These families are just as much a part of our state as everyone else,” he said.
Assemblymember Tri Ta, R-Westminster, is a co-author of the bill.
The Senate appropriations committee found the bill would result in additional annual general fund costs, estimated in the “low hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.” Those costs, the committee’s analysis said, would depend on how many new students took advantage of the program.
The bill is supported by California’s American Legion, Cal State’s office of the chancellor, and the California Association of County Veterans Service Officers, among others.
No opposition is on file for SB 67, and no senators voted against it when it was before legislators last week.
“SB 67 ensures that students from military families have equal access to the Cal Grant program, no matter where they graduate high school,” Seyarto said. “Their parents serve and contribute to California, and our state should proudly support their families’ path to higher education.”
It’s now before the Assembly.
In other news
• It was a zoo at the statehouse last week — quite literally.
SeaWorld San Diego visited Sacramento, bringing with it some of its residents. Sen. Catherine Blakespear, who represents communities in southern Orange County, “had the opportunity to pet an alligator, while my staff connected with a red-tailed boa constrictor,” she said in a post on X.
Thank you @SeaWorld San Diego for bringing some of your animals to the state Capitol today! I had the opportunity to pet an alligator, while my staff connected with a red-tailed boa constrictor. Thank you @SeaWorldCaresCA for all you do to rescue animals and for your research,… pic.twitter.com/8LNW7ICfUO
— Senator Catherine Blakespear (@SenBlakespear) May 29, 2025
Meanwhile, Assemblymember Greg Wallis, R-Bermuda Dunes, said he got to “hang out” with a kinkajou, a tropical rainforest mammal that he called “a quirky little relative of the raccoon family.”
SeaWorld is at the Capitol today and I was able to “hang out” with a kinkajou, a quirky little relative of the raccoon family.
Learning about these amazing creatures up close really opens your eyes to the wonders of wildlife.
Thank you to SeaWorld for bringing the fun to… pic.twitter.com/5VT15g8Ys7
— Assemblymember Greg Wallis (@AsmWallis) May 28, 2025
