Author: uclafaculty

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Governor Says There Will Be a State Budget Vote This Week But What That Means Is Uncertain

Byuclafaculty

Gov. Brown released a video – see below – in which he says there will be a budget vote this week. As a prior post noted, June 15 (Wednesday) is the generally-neglected constitutional deadline for the legislature to pass a budget. Exactly what a budget vote might mean is uncertain. Pieces of the budget have already been voted. More could be voted without an entire package being passed by June 15. In principle, legislators will not be paid after June 15, not even retroactively, for each day without a budget. But exactly how that will operate in practice is also…

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Average State Retirement Ages Including UC

Byuclafaculty

The Sacramento Bee today carries the table below on average retirement ages under various state pensions. UC faculty (not clear how that is defined; probably a lot more than ladder Senate faculty) have the oldest age. Source http://www.sacbee.com/2011/06/12/3694100_a3693990/roger-niello-others-push-raising.html

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Invasion of the Body Snatchers (in Wisconsin legislature)

Byuclafaculty

Apparently, a strange race of beings has taken over the Wisconsin legislature. They look like ordinary people but… Plan Would Force U. of Wisconsin to Return $39-Million in U.S. Broadband Grants June 8, 2011, Marc Parry, Chronicle of Higher Ed A budget approved by a legislative committee last week would force the University of Wisconsin to return $39-million in federal grants awarded to expand high-speed Internet access across the state, state education officials said. The plan would also require all University of Wisconsin institutions to withdraw from WiscNet, a nonprofit network cooperative that services the public universities, most of the…

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More Commitment of Funds We Haven’t Got? UC-Riverside Med School

Byuclafaculty

UCR med school stalled over funding: National medical committee withholds preliminary accreditation for UC Riverside medical school. June 8, 2011, LORA HINES, Riverside Press-Enterprise Preliminary accreditation for UC Riverside’s proposed medical school is on hold because the state has not budgeted ongoing money to fund it, university officials said Wednesday. The decision by the national Liaison Committee on Medical Education to withhold the accreditation means the school opening, slated for summer 2012, could be delayed for a year, university officials said… University and county officials said they will boost efforts to get lawmakers to commit funds for the medical school….

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How the (budget) sausage is being made

Byuclafaculty

You are not supposed to want to know how sausages are made. The making of the state budget sausage – as a prior post noted – is supposed to happen in the legislature by June 15. For any kind of tax extension or tax-related ballot measure, a 2/3 vote is needed which means a few GOP legislators must go along. Public sector unions have been pushing Gov. Brown to abandon the idea of a vote on tax extensions although they have not explained how he is supposed to get a 2/3 vote for his tax extensions. But they have said…

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Judge dismisses Livermore lab retirees’ lawsuit against UC: Transfer of retiree health plan deemed legal

Byuclafaculty

Background: A group of retired nuclear lab employees sued UC with regard to their transfer to a less desirable retiree medical plan than currently covers other UC employees. Readers may remember that for decades UC ran the labs as a legacy of the World War II Manhattan Project. When administration of the labs – after various security-related scandals – was transferred to a consortium of private contractors and UC, benefits such as pensions and health care became an issue. Judge dismisses Livermore lab retirees’ lawsuit: Transfer of retiree health plan deemed legal By Suzanne Bohan, Contra Costa Times, Updated: 06/08/2011…

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Crane Might Fly With Budget/Pension Deal (Or Not): We Will Likely Be in Suspense Until Next Wednesday

Byuclafaculty

Regent-designate David Crane was appointed in the waning moments of the Schwarzenegger regime. Crane is noted for favoring the Schwarzenegger-Whitman approach to public pensions. That might make it unlikely under normal circumstances that the Democrats in the legislature would bless his last-minute appointment. Note that if they don’t approve Crane, that denial of a seat would give Governor Brown the opportunity to name someone else. However, Crane has lately been writing that unions should not be blamed for the pension problem, which might make his case more palatable to legislative Democrats – particularly in the context of budget negotiations and…

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San Diego (and maybe California) gets a lesson on the letter C

Byuclafaculty

The City of San Diego just discovered that the C in a DC pension stands for Contribution. Actually, it stands for immediate Cash Contribution. San Diego was the poster child for bad defined benefit pension management even before the current pension crisis in California. However, a potential ballot measure in that city that would switch over to a defined contribution plan is raising questions. The discovery of what C means is good for UC even though we have nothing directly to do with San Diego. Among the various pension changes that have been floating around at the state level as…