governor

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Some of the best gubernatorial metaphors are mixed

Byuclafaculty

Governor Brown has been emphasizing that just because the legislative Democrats now seem to have a supermajority needed to pass taxes and override vetoes on spending, it would be wrong to expect that he will let them.  We have cautioned, therefore, that expectations of big enhancements of the UC budget are misplaced. Our past posts on the governor’s analogies and metaphors have featured aircraft and Biblical references.  But some of the best metaphors are mixed. For example, in explaining how he got Prop 30 passed by voters, the governor said: “Some people began to read tea leaves incorrectly,” Brown told…

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Governor Glide

Byuclafaculty

As noted in a prior post, Governor Brown says that despite the apparent gain by legislative Democrats of a supermajority, he doesn’t intend to let them run away with the budget or taxes.  [See Governor Joseph.] So although Prop 30 saved UC from trigger cuts, some big budget breakthrough should not be expected.  The governor is quoted in today’s Sacramento Bee: “I don’t underestimate the struggle over the next couple years to keep on a very calm, clear and sustainable glide path.”  See:http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/09/4972576/jerry-brown-plans-to-restrain.htmlThe governor wants to be a man of conviction on his glide path rather than – as above…

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Governor Joseph

Byuclafaculty

Joseph interprets Pharoah’s dream Our forum on the Future of UC Funding yesterday (see the previous two blog postings) took note of the fact that the Democrats seem to have gained a two-thirds majority in both houses of the legislature and in theory could pass additional taxes.  You might think that would mean lots of new funding for UC.  Think again; Gov. Brown says he does not want to go that route.  From the Capitol Alert blog of the Sacramento Bee: Gov. Jerry Brown said today that he will not use an expected Democratic supermajority in the California Legislature to…

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Prop 30 Passes So No Trigger Cuts for UC

Byuclafaculty

Above are the ballot proposition results as of around 5 AM this morning from the California Secretary of State with about 95% of the results.  [Click image to enlarge.]  Prop 30, the governor’s tax initiative endorsed by the Regents, has passed.  Prop 39, the corporate loophole tax, which also adds some money into the general fund despite its earmark for “green” projects, also has passed.  The Munger school tax (Prop 38), which was seen as a rival to the governor’s tax, did very poorly as polls predicted. With the passage of Prop 30, the budget trigger – that would have…

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Another poll shows the slide of Prop 30

Byuclafaculty

The California Field Poll shows the slide below 50%. Prop 30 – the governor’s tax initiative that has been endorsed by the Regents – had been marginally above 50% until recently.  It could still pass since the undecided voters have to vote yes or no and if most vote yes, it will have a majority.  Nonetheless, the position of Prop 30 is precarious. As readers of this blog will know, the revenue estimated to be produced by Prop 30 is built into the current fiscal year state budget.  Trigger cuts are also built into the budget if it fails, including…

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Poll Close to Home

Byuclafaculty

The Daily Bruin has an article on student knowledge about Prop 30 indicating that a majority were not familiar with the initiative.  Prop 30 – the governor’s tax initiative – has been endorsed by the UC Regents.  If it doesn’t pass, there will be trigger cuts to the state budget including $250 million to UC.  Note that the poll was done in late September and early October.  Presumably, the level of awareness has risen, particularly after the visit of Governor Brown to the campus on behalf of Prop 30. However, as yours truly notes in a quote in the article,…

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Gov. Brown’s Prop 30 Tax Below 50% in Two Major Polls

Byuclafaculty

Above are the results from the PPIC poll.  Both Prop 30 (Brown’s tax) and Prop 38 (Molly Munger school tax) are below 50%.  The Munger tax has been a loser all along but Prop 30 had been marginally ahead in prior polling.  More detail from the PPIC poll are below: Source: http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/survey/S_1012MBS.pdf The LA Times-USC poll shows similar results: You can see that poll in detail at: http://www.gqrr.com/images/stories/latusc.fq.102512.pdf If Prop 30 fails, trigger cuts are built into the current state budget.  UC would have a $250 million cut.  Tuition would likely be raised.  In theory, the legislature could repeal the trigger…

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The Other Tax: Prop 39

Byuclafaculty

As the website of the official opposition group to Prop 39 (as of this morning) indicates, there is not much effective opposition.  Go to the group’s Facebook page and you find the same thing.  Prop 39 – as proponents put it – closes a corporate tax loophole that was opened up as part of a tax deal in the legislature in 2009.  It favors out-of-state corporations by giving them a choice of tax computations.  So in-state businesses are not happy with the idea of competitors from out-of-state getting a special deal.  That fact means that elements of the local business…

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The Governor on Higher Ed and UC

Byuclafaculty

On Oct. 16, Gov. Brown came to UCLA to promote his tax initiative, Prop 30.  As part of that visit, he met with UC student journalists at the UCLA Daily Bruin offices.  An audio was made of the interview.  The full interview runs about three quarters of an hour.  It is available at: http://www.dailybruin.com/multimedia/51093 However, about thirteen minutes was focused on Brown’s thoughts about higher ed, particularly his long-term vision for UC as an ex officio Regent.  I think it is fair to say that while he had thoughts, it would be hard to term them a coherent, long-term vision. …

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Lawsuit filed against a CSU campus over promotion of Prop 30

Byuclafaculty

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. has filed a lawsuit claiming that an email by a campus administrator improperly used public resources (the email system) to promote Prop 30, the governor’s tax initiative which has been endorsed by the UC Regents.  The Regents live streamed their endorsement during a regular meeting using UC facilities.  So why a particular CSU campus is the target of the lawsuit is unclear. The offending email is not reproduced in its entirety in the lawsuit but is summarized as follows: The communication expresses and solicits support for Proposition 30.  The email is addressed “Dear Students,” and solicits…