Cal. Educ. Code § 76143
For purposes of the nonresident tuition fee, a community college district shall disregard the time during which a student living in the district resided outside the state, if:
(3) At the time of application for admission to a college maintained by the district, the student would qualify as a resident if the period of the student’s absence from the state was disregarded.
A nonresident tuition fee shall not be charged to a student who meets each of the conditions specified in subdivisions (1) to (3), inclusive.