News

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Republicans Offer Public Pension Proposition But Can’t Surmount 2/3 Hurdle

Byuclafaculty

Once California legislative Republicans were cut out of the budget process, they lost their ability to negotiate a pension proposition to be put on the ballot. Of course, such propositions can be placed on the ballot via initiative. But since there is no special election being called to deal with tax extensions, any such initiative would likely have to await until 2012. Republicans have asked the legislature to put a pension proposition on the ballot. But they would need to overcome a 2/3 vote hurdle which won’t happen with a Democratic majority. Nonetheless, the proposal indicates what Republicans might have…

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LAO State Budget Estimates

Byuclafaculty

The Legislative Analyst has produced a preliminary state budget analysis. The full publication is at http://www.lao.ca.gov/handouts/Econ/2011/Summary_Tables.pdf but the table above is a summary. If you look at “revenue & transfers” (keeping in mind that “transfers” can hide mischief) vs. expenditures, you can see that the budget year that ended June 30 was estimated to be in surplus ($94.781 billion – $91.480 billion = a surplus of +$3.301 billion). The new budget year – assuming sufficient revenue – runs another surplus ($$88.456 billion – $85.937 billion = a surplus of +$2.519 billion). Running these estimated and assumed surpluses restores the general…

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Got any spare change for the UC-Riverside med school?

Byuclafaculty

The saga of the UC-Riverside proposed med school continues post-state budget. Now the request goes to local authorities: UCR Med School requests $12 million grant Nicole C. Brambila, Jun. 30, 2011| Desert Healthcare District board members are mulling over a multi-year $12 million grant request for the new UCR Medical School to help the fledging institution get the social capital it needs for accreditation. The med school was dealt a setback this week when its state funding became a casualty of the revenue shortfall and a $15 million budget request evaporated… Full story at http://www.mydesert.com/article/20110630/NEWS01/110630014/UCR-Med-School-requests-12-million-grant

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CSU Tuition Prepares for Blast Off

Byuclafaculty

From Capitol Alert blog of the Sacramento Bee today: …Chancellor Charles Reed announced this afternoon that he will ask trustees to vote on a 12 percent tuition increase when they meet on July 12. “What was once unprecedented has unfortunately become normal, as for the second time in three years the CSU will be cut by well over $500 million,” Reed said in a statement. “The magnitude of this cut, compounded with the uncertainty of the final amount of the reduction, will have negative impacts on the CSU long after this upcoming fiscal year has come and gone.” Full article:…

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Gone: The End of CPEC

Byuclafaculty

From the LA Times today: …Brown completely eliminated the California Postsecondary Education Commission, saving $1.9 million. For nearly four decades, the panel has coordinated planning between California’s three branches of higher education — the California State University and University of California systems and the community colleges. In his veto message, Brown called the commission ineffective… Full article at http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-state-budget-20110701,0,1204898.story It was swell while it lasted:

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Time to Fold?

Byuclafaculty

The saga of the UCR med-school-to-be continues in the Riverside Press-Enterprise (excerpts): UC Riverside officials announced Wednesday that the opening of their proposed medical school will be postponed a year because they did not secure the ongoing state funding needed to gain accreditation. The announcement from Chancellor Timothy White came the day after Democrats in Sacramento passed a 2011-12 budget that did not include extra funding for the medical school. The budget, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed Wednesday night, cut another $150 million from the UC system on top of the $500 million reduction taken earlier this year… “We can’t…

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If the Trigger Is Pulled

Byuclafaculty

As noted in earlier blog posts, the new state budget has a trigger provision that activates if assumed revenue does not materialize. Higher ed takes an additional hit if that occurs. So does K-12. But K-12 school districts are not permitted to make budget plans that assume an additional hit. From today’s Sacramento Bee: …Lawmakers blocked K-12 districts from laying off teachers for the upcoming fiscal year. Teachers also won provisions requiring districts to ignore – for now – the prospect of a $1.75 billion “trigger” cut that could hit K-12 districts if optimistic revenue projections fall short. Instead, the…

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29-Story Wilshire-Gayley Hotel

Byuclafaculty

Yours truly received a phone call yesterday from a reporter about a 29-story hotel project on the site of the old Hollywood video store, long closed, on the northwest corner of Wilshire and Gayley (adjacent to the UCLA parking lot). This project has been in the works for some time. For example, you can read a description of it in a 2009 filing with the City of LA at http://cityplanning.lacity.org/eir/WilshireGayleyProject/DEIR/issues/I._Executive_Summary.pdf At that time, i.e., in 2009, the developer was describing it as either a mixed condo/hotel project or just a condo project. A more recent news article, however, terms it…

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Where Are They Going?

Byuclafaculty

UC fears talent loss to deeper pockets Larry Gordon, LA Times, 6/29/11 UC San Diego faced a losing battle recently when it tried to hang on to three star scientists being wooed by Rice University for cutting-edge cancer research. The recruiting package from the private Houston university included 40% pay raises, new labs and a healthy flow of research money from a Texas state bond fund. Another factor, unrelated to Rice, helped close the deal: The professors’ sense that declining state funding for the University of California makes it a good time to pack their bags. “What’s happening now is…

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Deeply Disappointed

Byuclafaculty

When the previous (and now-vetoed) state budget was enacted, President Yudof and Regents Chair Gould put out a strong press release condemning the action. Now that we a new budget with the same cut and a trigger that could add still more cuts, the press release reaction seems rather tepid, given that this is the second time around: UC statement on state budget plan 2011-06-28 The following statement about the budget plan announced by Gov. Jerry Brown and the Democratic leaders of the state Legislature was released today (June 28) by the University of California Office of the President: The…