The California Constitution provides that the University of California constitutes a public trust, and requires the university to be administered by the Regents of the University of California, a corporation in the form of a board, with full powers of organization and government, subject to legislative control only for specified purposes. The California Constitution requires the board to consist of 7 ex officio members and 18 appointive members appointed by the Governor and approved by the Senate. The California Constitution authorizes the members of the board to appoint either a member of the faculty at a campus of the university or of another institution of higher education, or a person enrolled as a student at a campus of the university, or both, as members of the board serving for no less than one year with all rights of participation.

This measure would require, instead of authorize, the members of the board to appoint to the board 2 students enrolled at a campus of the university for each regular academic term during their service as members of the board, as provided. The measure would also require each student board member to serve as a nonvoting student regent-designate in the year preceding the start of their term as a member of the board, and would require one nonvoting student regent-designate to be enrolled as an undergraduate student and one nonvoting student regent-designate to be enrolled as a graduate or professional student when appointed to the nonvoting student regent-designate position, as specified.