Responding to cuts suggested in Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggar's 2004-05 state budget proposal, California State Sen. Mike Machado, D-Linden, and other Democratic leaders plan to host a town hall meeting on campus April 16.

The public forum will start at 10 a.m. in the Alumni and Visitors Center. The campus community is invited.

The town hall marks the first of four such events sponsored by the Senate Majority Caucus to be held at the California State University campuses in Los Angeles and San Jose and the UC campuses in Davis and San Diego.

The meetings will underscore the importance of the state's investment in education and outline potentially damaging education cuts proposed in the governor's budget, organizers said. "Funding cuts to higher education will close the doors of opportunity to many of California's best and brightest students," Machado said. "Investing in higher education will drive California's economic recovery, ensuring its place as an economic leader."

The impacts of the state's higher education system are far-reaching. UC's 10 campuses and California State University's 23-campus system are attended by a combined 610,000 students. In terms of economic impact, UC Davis alone contributed $2.7 billion to the California economy in 2001-02 and generated 45,000 jobs.

Also at UC Davis, for every public dollar invested in the campus, the state receives $5 in return. And after the State of California, the campus is the largest employer in the Sacramento region, with 29,000 employees.

The governor's 2004-05 state higher education budget proposal would cut UC freshman enrollment by 10 percent, raise resident graduate student fees by 40 percent, raise professional school fees and reduce financial aid funding.