governor

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No Way (for UC), San Jose

Byuclafaculty

As previous blog posts have noted, Governor Brown has proposed a statewide pension plan that would override the Regents’ changes to the UC pension and would require a “hybrid” plan with defined benefit and defined contribution components, a 75% cap, etc.  UC’s official position is that it shouldn’t be included.  However, the governor has not acquiesced. The legislature’s majority Democrats have been reluctant to consider the governor’s plan and have been considering alternatives.  Brown has warned public sector unions that local governments will be putting plans on the ballot and adopting pension plans that are more stringent than his proposal…

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A Billion Where?

Byuclafaculty

An earlier post noted the supposed quote of Everett Dirksen, GOP minority leader in the U.S. Senate in the 1960s (talking about the federal budget): “A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.”  (Presumably, real money was more than the 15 cents on the picture.) We noted in that blog post that as of that point shortly after income tax day April 17, income tax collections for the fiscal year were running a billion dollars ahead of last year.  Sadly, the fates have not been with us.  As of April 24, the billion dollar…

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The Odd Brown/GOP Pension Initiative

Byuclafaculty

Gov. Brown has proposed a pension revision affecting all state and local employees in California.  It would override UC’s changes in its pension system made by the Regents.  The governor’s plan is a hybrid of defined benefit and defined contribution with a pension cap of 75% of salary for new hires.  Brown wants the legislature to put his plan on the ballot but the legislature’s Democratic majority instead is studying alternatives. Legislative Republicans, however, have endorsed the governor’s plan and filed an initiative to put it on the ballot.  Unclear at this time is whether they will spend the $1-$2…

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Listen to Remaining Audio of Regents Meeting of March 29, 2012

Byuclafaculty

A previous post on this blog noted that a defective file had been received for the third day session of the Regents after the Public Comments period.  Only part of that session was posted as a result, although it did include the decision officially to withdraw implementation of an exemption from the IRS pension cap.  The complete recording has now been received.  It includes the portion previous posted plus discussion of private budgetary support and fund raising, political advocacy including a request by students to support the governor’s tax initiative scheduled for the November ballot.  There was also discussion of…

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Time to “Man Up” to the Fact that UC Funding is Not Governor Brown’s Top Objective

Byuclafaculty

Governor Brown received flak for a comment made on a San Francisco radio show last week in which he told the legislature to “man up” and make his proposed budget cuts. The remark triggered memories of former Governor Schwarzenegger’s characterization of the legislature as composed of “girly men.” Actually, the radio interview – apart from the man-up soundbite – was interesting from the UC perspective because of what the governor did not mention.  Apart from a fleeting reference to his father’s creation of new university campuses, which he cited only to justify his support for the proposed high-speed rail project,…

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Another Hybrid Pension Proposal

Byuclafaculty

A state legislative committee is looking at a hybrid pension plan for (newly hired) public workers in California but it differs from the hybrid proposed by Gov. Brown.  The Brown plan was a mix of a (reduced) defined-benefit plan and a defined-contribution plan.  The alternative being considered is a mix of a (reduced) defined-benefit plan and a “cash balance” plan. A cash balance plan is similar to defined contribution but it guarantees a fixed rate of return.  That means, the employer and/or employee must adequately fund the plan so it meets the guarantee.  The higher the guaranteed return, the greater…

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The Story So Far: Tuition, Ballot Propositions, Hotel, Japanese Garden, Pepper Spray, and More

Byuclafaculty

Yours truly tried to get a decent recording of the Regents public comment session this morning. Unfortunately, an aging office computer produced such a low quality recording that I will summarize below in writing: Prior to the public comment period, President Yudof said he intended to endorse the governor’s tax initiative and would ask the Regents to do so.  After the comment period, Academic Council chair Bob Anderson noted that faculty members are voting on a memorial to the Regents asking them to endorse ballot propositions that provide funding to the university.  (The memorial does not designate a particular initiative.)…

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Jerry Brown Says He Could Run a Campus and Lots of Others Could, Too

Byuclafaculty

The Sacramento Bee carried a YouTube video with some text of the governor’s remarks, shortly before the CSU Board of Trustees boosted up some campus presidents’ salaries: …The Democratic governor dismissed the argument that the potential pool of college presidents is so small that salaries must be raised to remain competitive. “I think there are a lot more people that can be college presidents, maybe even some of you,” Brown told reporters. Asked if he could be one, Brown said, “I have no doubt.”  “I have no doubt that I could be a college president, and I think a number…

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President Yudof Responds to Three Pension Questions

Byuclafaculty

On March 2, President Yudof answered questions in a live-streaming format from UC employees.  You may have received an email referring to an edited version of some questions – including three on pensions – that appeared in UCLA Today.  Because the UCLA Today versions were edited, some nuances on pension issues were lost. Below is the UCLA Today version in regular type and then a comment from yours truly and the actual transcript in italics.  Also, the audio (a video with a fixed picture) is at the bottom of this posting along with various links. Question: What is the impact…

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Legislative Analyst Forecasts Less Revenue than Governor

Byuclafaculty

The Legislative Analyst has issued a new report on the outlook for state revenue.  It is less optimistic than the forecast contained in the governor’s budget proposal of January. Both the LAO and the governor assume that the governor’s tax measure slated for the November ballot will pass.  Forecasting involves much uncertainty and in the case of budgeting, the economic forecast must be linked to specific taxes, another possible source of error.  Nonetheless, ultimately the legislature has to go with some forecast and, as we saw last June, it can assume phantom revenue and pass a budget on that basis…