Student government authority over mandatory student fees had been the law of the land in California, with varying degrees of administrative oversight. This changed in 1979, when students at the UC Berkeley campus filed suit against the Regents, the Associated Students of the University of California, and individual officers of the University challenging the collection and use of mandatory fees. Their challenge, made in the Smith v Regents court case, held that it was a violation of their First Amendment Rights to have to support, via mandatory student fees, student government activities involving issues they did not approve of as individuals.

The Smith decision prohibited the use of mandatory fees for any activities which were determined to be predominantly political, ideological, or religious.  Additionally, in the Winter of 1994 the University implemented guidelines summarily prohibiting the use of mandatory student fees for lobbying activities. In a recent victory for the campus forum, the University of California General Counsel's office instructed system and campus administrators to disregard the original ruling of Smith v Regents in light of Rosenberger v. University of Virginia.

The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Rosenberger, a case initiated by a religious group publishing a Christian editorial paper, prompted the University to revise the post-Smith guidelines to remove the section requiring that funds not be allocated to registered campus organizations which are predominantly political, ideological, or religious. However, the University continues to hold that elected student government officials are not eligible to use mandatory student fees to fund lobbying efforts for any reason.

So, although the student voice was momentarily silenced in the State Capitol students are slowly returning with strength. The University of California Student Association (UCSA) and other campus associations continue to fight the limits of the guidelines.

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