ballot propositions

| | |

Pension Initiative Seems to Be Out of Gas (for Now)

Byuclafaculty

Earlier posts noted a pension initiative drive – fronted by San Jose Mayor Chris Reed – that would have swept in UC.  For now, the effort seems to have stalled.  The proponents have decided to litigate the title and summary by the attorney general of the initiative.  Effectively, that will take enough time so that they will not be able to gather the signatures needed to get the initiative on the November 2014 ballot.  The decision to litigate may just be a polite way to bow out for now.  See:http://www.sacbee.com/2014/01/30/6116016/public-pension-measure-likely.html Of course, if your car stalls for whatever reason, you…

| | | | |

Neutral

Byuclafaculty

Proponents of the  proposed pension/retiree health care initiative (that would cover UC) were afraid the attorney general would come up with a nasty title and summary.  It doesn’t seem to have happened, however.  Other than the references to teachers, nurses, and peace officers (the public’s favorite public employees), it is pretty neutral.  To the extent there is mention of costs, the references come from the earlier Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) report.  Below is the title and summary: January 6, 2014 Initiative 13-0043 The Attorney General of California has prepared the following title and summary of the chief purpose and points…

| | | | | |

Follow Me, Says Crane

Byuclafaculty

We have previously reported on a proposed ballot initiative on public pensions in California that, as written, would cover UC.  There appears to be money behind the campaign for this initiative.  Another indication of such money comes in the form of a letter by former UC Regent David Crane on CalSTRS.  Crane was appointed by Gov. Schwarzenegger but the appointment was not endorsed by the state senate and thus ended.  In any event, the letter from Crane addressed to Gov. Brown – which his website says in today’s Sacramento Bee – seems to be part of the larger campaign for…

| | | |

The Rewards of Good Behavior (and the penalties for the reverse)

Byuclafaculty

With a possible pension initiative coming to the ballot, it would be nice if public pension plans stayed on Good Behavior.  Alas: Federal investigators are looking into allegations that CalPERS violated insider trading laws this year when it purchased $26.6 million in restricted stock and then decided it didn’t need to reverse the trades when they were discovered. Two sources with knowledge of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s inquiry say on condition of anonymity that it involves stock purchases that the nation’s largest public pension fund made in March, including nearly $24 million in global financial firm JPMorgan Chase & Co….

| |

A Berkeley Admissions Dossier Reader Tells All

Byuclafaculty

Yours truly confesses he missed an August 1 article in the NY Times concerning the UC-Berkeley admissions process (which undoubtedly applies to UCLA as well).  The article gets into the sensitive area of admissions in the post-Prop 209 era.  [Prop 209 bans affirmative action in admissions.]  Since you may also have missed it, here is an excerpt below with a link to the full article: A HIGHLY qualified student, with a 3.95 unweighted grade point average and 2300 on the SAT, was not among the top-ranked engineering applicants to the University of California, Berkeley. He had perfect 800s on his…

| | | | | |

If You Don’t Want to Talk to the Piper, Why Not Talk to the Piper’s Paymaster?

Byuclafaculty

As blog readers will know, there is currently a potential ballot initiative on public pensions and other retiree benefits (health care) that as written sweeps in UC.  We won’t rehash why it would be best if UC was excluded – as it ultimately was from the governor’s pension bill.  But let’s just say for purposes of this posting that excluding UC would be a Good Thing. At present, there is no rush needed to get signatures for 2014, or possibly 2016.  And we have suggested in the past that the folks in UCOP might want to talk to San Jose…

| | | |

Clock is ticking away on chance to get UC out of anti-pension initiative

Byuclafaculty

Previous posts on t his blog have noted the filing of an anti-pension initiative, fronted by some mayors, that would include UC along with other state and local plans.  We have noted that it would be best if UC were omitted from the initiative on the rationale that the Regents have implemented their own plan for modifying their retiree programs (back in 2010). We have also noted that once an initiative gets on the ballot, it cannot be amended.  However, groups filing pension initiatives sometimes file amended versions.  The group behind the initiative has now filed a second version, illustrating…

| | | |

Response Would Be a Slender Reed (Pun Intended), But Why Not?

Byuclafaculty

Prior posts on this blog have noted that there is an anti-pension initiative that has been filed by a group whose front man is San Jose mayor Chuck Reed.  The proposition, if it got on the ballot, would cover UC.  It would require plans do be drawn up, presumably by the Regents, to deal with retirement underfunding.  The plans would be different than what the Regents developed on their own in 2010.  In theory, the Regents could draw up the plans and ignore them.  That would create political problems for the Regents and UC, however. Bottom line: We would be…

| | | | | |

Brown Joins Harvard in Rejecting Fossil Fuel Divestment

Byuclafaculty

We have noted in previous posts that there is a student group that has been using the public comment period at the Regents to push for pension and other fund divestment of fossil fuels. (The demand involves both extraction industries and some utilities.)  It is part of a national student movement.  If you scroll back to our links to Regents meetings, you will be able to hear those demands. Recently, as we have noted, Harvard rejected the demand.  See http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/10/04/harvard-rejects-call-divest-fossil-fuels.  Today, Inside Higher Ed is reporting that Brown University has also rejected it.  See http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/10/28/brown-u-rejects-call-sell-holdings-coal-companies. Given the current anti-pension initiative…

| | | |

Disclosure Decision Will Make It More Difficult to Hide Funding for Anti-Pension Initiative

Byuclafaculty

You may recall the brouhaha that developed around secret funding by a group that opposed Proposition 30 (the governor’s tax initiative) and supported Prop 32 (an anti-union initiative).  It became an issue late in that election.  Large fines have now been levied by the California Fair Political Practices Commission.  While this development may seem like old political news, it will be relevant for whatever groups are pushing the anti-pension initiative about which we have been posting and which covers UC.  It will be more difficult – but not impossible – to continue to hide behind the friendly faces of a…