governor

| | | |

State Budget: Running the Clock

Byuclafaculty

If you are wondering what is happening to the state budget, it appears that the closest analogy is the point in the film High Noon in which the train carrying the Bad Guy arrives at noon. After he arrives, there will be a confrontation/shoot-out with the Good Guy. In the case of the state budget, however, it is midnight – not noon – that is critical: midnight on June 30. At that point, the fiscal year 2010-11 ends and there is no budget to replace it. Also, the taxes that the governor wants to extend expire so that any ballot…

| | |

UC-Riverside Wants $$$s for New Med School

Byuclafaculty

Olds urges UCR lobbying group to help gain accreditation (excerpt) LORA HINES, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 6/22/11 The dean of UC Riverside’s proposed medical school on Wednesday appeared before university supporters and urged them to contact Sacramento lawmakers to secure ongoing state funding needed to accredit the school. Dr. G. Richard Olds asked members of the Citizens University Committee, a UCR lobbying group, for assistance in securing state money. Earlier this month, university officials were informed by an accreditation panel that the medical school would not be accredited because the state had not committed to ongoing funding. The medical school needs a…

| | |

No Pay Today: State Budget Update

Byuclafaculty

As noted in an update to one of yesterday’s blog entries, state controller John Chiang has ruled that the budget passed by the legislature (but vetoed by the governor), was not “balanced.” However, he took a relatively narrow view of what the imbalance was, which would open the door to some other budget deal that might have funny elements in it. Chiang’s ruling means legislators don’t get paid. So far, no one has filed a legal challenge to his ruling. There is a report that the governor has a plan for passing a budget by majority vote, i.e., without Republican…

| | | |

Radio Interview on UC Budget Cut (in Now-Vetoed Budget)

Byuclafaculty

UC Exec VP for Business Operations Nathan Brostrom was interviewed earlier today by Madeline Brand, KPCC, shortly before the governor vetoed the state budget. Brostrom asserts that the governor could have line-item vetoed the UC cut. It’s not clear that the governor could do that but, in any event, vetoing the entire budget ends the issue for now. Click below for the interview. Note that it is uncertain where we go from here. The governor and the legislative Democrats are now at odds. The state controller, John Chiang, is deciding whether the budget that was passed but vetoed was “balanced”…

| |

More Cuts for UC Under Simple-Majority Budget

Byuclafaculty

If Republican votes cannot be obtained to put tax extensions on the ballot, Democrats in the legislature are reported to be poised to pass a simple-majority budget that would include more cuts to UC. From the Sacramento Bee website: The proposal… includes the following: – $3.4 billion in deferred payments to K-12 schools, community colleges and the University of California. Schools could maintain programs as long as they borrow to fund them. – $1 billion in taking First 5 funds, a move already under legal challenge. – $1.7 billion by asking redevelopment agencies to contribute money to the state under…

| | | |

Some Mental Reservations on the State Budget: Time to Reconsider?

Byuclafaculty

News accounts this morning are full of the budget drama in Sacramento and whether Governor Brown will get the four Republican votes to put tax extensions on the bracket. The accounts use the usual metaphors. Brown wants a budget with “no gimmicks.” Anything else is “smoke and mirrors.” Etc., Etc. However, the reason Brown might now possibly get the needed GOP votes is that Republicans think that if tax extensions are on the ballot, they will be defeated. In that case, Brown will have made pension, spending cap, and regulatory concessions without getting his extensions. Lost in this reporting is…

| |

Legislative Analyst Not Keen on Ending CPEC: Suggests Reform Instead

Byuclafaculty

As noted in a prior entry on this blog, Gov. Brown in his May revise budget proposed terminating the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC). CPEC is supposed to coordinate the various public segments of higher ed and the private higher ed institutions. The Leg Analyst has issued a second document indicating it sees a continuing role for CPEC but suggests reforms including more data analysis of higher ed. Undoubtedly, CPEC agrees. The Leg Analyst’s document is at http://www.lao.ca.gov/handouts/education/2011/LAO_Recommendations_on_Governor%E2%80%99s_Proposal_to_Eliminate_CPEC_052511.pdf The governor’s May revise had plans to kill many boards and commissions of which CPEC is just one. And there are the…

| | | |

Pension Initiative OK’d for Circulation

Byuclafaculty

The pension initiative that was filed by legislative Republicans negotiating with Gov. Brown on the state budget now has a title and summary language and so it can be circulated for the needed signatures. It includes UC and would override the Regents’ pension changes enacted last December. Like all initiatives, however, unless someone wants to spend $1-$2 million for commercial firms to get those signatures, it won’t go beyond this stage. The added summary language is below. The actual text of the initiative is below that:May 23, 2011Initiative 11-0007 (Amdt. #1-NS.) The Attorney General of California has prepared the following…

| | |

LAO wrecks hybrid (pension plan study)

Byuclafaculty

The Legislative Analyst’s Office has opposed a plan in the governor’s budget proposal to give CalPERS funding to study a “hybrid” pension plan for all state public pensions, not just CalPERS. CalPERS is on record as opposing such a plan, so giving it funding to do a study may have been a way for the governor to sink the idea. Under a hybrid plan, there is essentially a cutback defined benefit pension and a defined contribution element. The LAO position is at http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/budgetlist/PublicSearch.aspx?PolicyAreaNum=42&Department_Number=-1&KeyCol=430&Yr=2011

| |

Circulating Cap

Byuclafaculty

The initiative filed to place a formula cap on state spending can now be circulated with the summary and title below. As prior posts have noted, this initiative seems to have been filed as part of negotiations between Republican legislators and the governor regarding the state budget. It essentially rejuvenates the old Gann Limit concept that voters approved in the wake of Prop 13 but later gutted. Whether someone has the needed $1-$2 million to hire signature gathering firms is unknown. The governor said in his May revise oral presentation that he supports a cap. He did not specify the…