(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.

(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 511, Sec. 3. (AB 2736) Effective January 1, 2015.)