(a) Upon the favorable vote of two-thirds of the students voting in an election held for the purpose at a state university, in the manner the trustees shall prescribe, and open to all regular students enrolled in the state university, the trustees may establish, in addition to any other student fee the trustees are authorized to establish, a building and operating fee, not to exceed forty dollars ($40) per student per academic year, which shall be required of all students attending the state university. All unexpended funds and money collected by any state university under this section shall be available for financing, operating, and constructing a student body center. All unexpended funds collected by any state university under this section shall be deposited or invested in trust by the chief fiscal officer of that state university in any one or more of the following ways:

(1) Deposits in trust accounts of the centralized state treasury system pursuant to Sections 16305 to 16305.7, inclusive, of the Government Code or in the California State University Trust Fund, or in a bank or banks whose accounts are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

(2) Investment certificates or withdrawable shares in state-chartered savings and loan associations and savings accounts of federal savings and loan associations, if the associations are doing business in the state and have their accounts insured by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation.

(3) Purchase of any of the securities authorized for investment by § 16430 of the Government Code or investment by the Treasurer in those securities.

(4) Participation in funds that are exempt from federal income tax pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code and that are open exclusively to nonprofit colleges, universities, and independent schools.

(5) Investment certificates or withdrawable shares in federal or state credit unions, if the credit unions are doing business in the state and have their accounts insured by the National Credit Union Administration and if any money so invested or deposited is invested or deposited in certificates, shares, or accounts fully covered by that insurance.

(b) All revenues received by the trustees under this section may be pledged for the acquisition, construction, and improvement of student body center projects pursuant to the State University Revenue Bond Act of 1947 (Article 2 (commencing with Section 90010) of Chapter 8), and may also be pledged to supplement other revenue funded projects relating to debt obligations issued by the trustees pursuant to the State University Revenue Bond Act of 1947. This section shall not be construed as altering or permitting a change in the pledge of student body center fee revenues established in connection with debt obligations issued before the enactment of this section and pursuant to the State University Revenue Bond Act of 1947.

(c) (1) The chief fiscal officer of each state university shall be the custodian of funds collected by a state university under this section, and shall provide the necessary accounting records and controls thereof.

(2) The state university shall be reimbursed from the funds collected by a state university under this section in an amount to cover the cost of the custodial and accounting services provided by the state university in connection with these funds.

(d) The funds collected by a state university under this section may be expended by the custodian when an appropriate claim schedule is approved.

(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 188, Sec. 9. (SB 886) Effective January 1, 2024.)