governor

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Jerry Brown as the Terminator (of CPEC): LAO Objects

Byuclafaculty

The California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) is among the boards and commissions the governor proposed in the May revise for termination. CPEC is supposed to coordinate among the public and private elements of higher ed. However, the Legislative Analyst’s Office prefers other options, or at least suggests such alternatives be considered. LAO’s position below: Options Related to Governor’s Proposal for CPEC Background We believe there are several critical coordination functions necessary to protect the state’s investment in higher education. Examples include data collection and analysis, planning and oversight, and review of new program and campus proposals. Some of these activities…

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Who Will Bail Out UC?

Byuclafaculty

The parking of a Hummer belonging to Lipstick Bail Bonds (slogan: “Kiss Jail Goodbye”) at the UCLA med center recently raises the issue of who bails out UC if the governor’s tax extensions-resumptions don’t pass. Students, apparently, will be the answer: UC tuition might jump 32% if tax proposal fails, official says UC President Mark G. Yudof tells regents that this fall’s 8% tuition increase may be dwarfed by an additional 32% midyear hike if Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan for tax extensions is not approved. By Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times May 19, 2011 Reporting from San Francisco — University…

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LAO Points to Alternatives to the May Revise

Byuclafaculty

The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) has prepared its analysis of the governor’s May revise proposal. It believes that recent increases in state income tax receipts are more heavily the result of capital gains than the governor does. In the short term, i.e., through the next fiscal year, the source of the revenue doesn’t much matter. However, the LAO believes that in the outyears (beyond 2011-12), less revenue can be expected than the governor’s projection would suggest. LAO provides a similar analysis of the corporate profits tax; it has a less rosy outlook in the outyears than the governor. The LAO…

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Wind or Windfall in the State Budget?

Byuclafaculty

There are constant headlines about a state revenue “windfall.” It refers to a projection that this fiscal year, the Dept. of Finance thinks there will be more revenue than it did back in January when Gov. Brown made his original budget proposal. The May revise was discussed in a prior post. It was noted that while more revenue was projected for the current year, it turned out that the general fund, viewed as a checking account, now seems to have been more overdrawn at the start of the fiscal year (July 1, 2010) than was thought in January. On the…

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Video: The Governor’s May Revise News Conference

Byuclafaculty

An earlier post on this blog analyzes the May Revise news conference held by Gov. Brown on May 16. There is video of that news conference on the governor’s website but – at least on my computer – it tended to pause and freeze. The version on the calchannel was even worse and caused a total crash at one point. So below is the video transplanted to YouTube by yours truly which works best. It is divided into 4 parts due to YouTube time limits. Part 2, it might be noted, contains a statement by the governor that he would…

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State Spending Cap Could End Up on Ballot: Background

Byuclafaculty

Tomorrow is the day Governor Brown is supposed to unveil his May-revise budget. Various elements have been leaking out to the news media. There was also an announcement concerning closing selected state parks which reflects an element of political theater as well as the reality of the continuing budget crisis. Earlier posts have noted that Republicans have indicated that they might accept a deal that would include putting on the ballot a state spending cap. By way of background, California has a state spending cap – the Gann Limit – passed by voters in 1979 in the wake of Prop…

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PPIC April Poll Suggests Uncertain Outlook for Tax Propositions

Byuclafaculty

Here are two charts from the latest PPIC poll. The poll dealt mainly with issues of K-12 education and finance. However, Californians have long had a warm spot for K-12 and so framing budgetary issues as linked to K-12 (which they are, of course) probably makes voters more likely to support taxes than otherwise. There remains majority support for calling a special election as proposed by the governor. However, such an election can no longer be called before the end of the fiscal year (before June 30). So that means what were to be billed as tax extensions become tax…

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Lonesome Travelers at UC?

Byuclafaculty

The governor just issued an executive order banning non-essential travel of state employees under his direct authority. UC is not under his direct authority but the order contains the following language: IT IS REQUESTED that other entities of State government not under my direct executive authority conduct an analysis to determine the discretionary nature of their travel in order to reduce unnecessary costs. The full order is at http://www.gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=17008 Exactly what UC will do in response is not known at this time. But you might assume UC travelers will be lonesome as fewer folks take trips:

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Possible Deal on State Budget Reported

Byuclafaculty

Capitol Weekly is reported that a deal between the governor and Republican legislators is being discussed/negotiated in which the GOP would agree to extend the temporary taxes due to expire in July until November. In November, voters would be asked if they wanted to extend the taxes beyond that point. A majority vote can pass the budget which would assume, presumably, the tax extensions would pass in November. However, this is a report, not a definite fact. Details at http://capitolweekly.net/article.php?1=1&_c=zmrye1u2fjhsk6&xid=zmpzz7akq1pkwi&done=.zmq26xjhtm7yq4&_ce=1302787353.bf5f992d0229ede3494e3b6ef281820d&_c=zmrye1u2fjhsk6 Update: A related report is at http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2011/04/at-gop-fundraiser-good-vibes-for-brown-budget.html