Last Friday, October 13, California state governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 91 into law to eliminate high tuition costs for low-income students in the California-Mexican border region.

This bill had been introduced by assemblymember David Alvarez at the beginning of the year. This law will create a 5-year pilot program that will allow students who live in Mexico and within 45 miles of the border with California an exemption from out-of-state tuition rates.

This law is based on a proposal from 2015 that allowed students near the California border in Nevada to pay a discounted tuition rate at Lake Tahoe Community College.

Southern California and northern Baja California make together a megaregion in which more than 170,000 people travel daily for several different reasons. This law will be able to meet the demand of qualified workers and will promote a more diverse workforce and economy, by reducing high tuition costs for low-income students.

Assemblymember David Alvarez stated that the signing of Assembly Bill 91 into law will be able to untap an important resource so as to prepare a more diverse population among California's workforce. In addition, he thanked everyone who defended this bill, as its goal is to expand education opportunities for all communities.

Dr. Mark Sánchez, president of Southwestern College, stated that this bill will transform the realities of the region by making tuition for community colleges affordable for binational students; this will allow them to be part of a single binational economy.

This law goes into effect January 1, 2024.

VIDEO: David Álvarez - Assemblymember, District 80