politics

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More on the Hot Potato: Assembly May Reconsider

Byuclafaculty

Yesterday, we posted a hot potato item concerning a state assembly resolution dealing with anti-Semitism and anti-Israel demonstrations on California campuses.  Issues were raised about free speech implications of the (non-binding) resolution. Readers will recall from that posting that UC declined to comply.  Now apparently the assembly may reconsider, although in the future – not now:=== A state lawmaker is promising to introduce a fix to an Assembly resolution that stirred controversy because it urged California universities to crack down on demonstrations against Israel.  Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal said Wednesday that she would work on a resolution that would affirm First…

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Continuing Hot Potato Issue for UC

Byuclafaculty

We noted this issue in an earlier posting on an internal university debate – which apparently has now reached the legislature: The University of California says it won’t support a resolution condemning anti-Semitism on campus – approved unanimously by the state Assembly on Tuesday – because the resolution says “no public resources will be allowed to be used for any anti-Semitic or any intolerant agitation.” “We think it’s problematic because of First Amendment concerns,” said Steve Montiel, a UC spokesman. The nonbinding resolution, says, in effect, that UC and other public universities should ban activity that could be interpreted as intolerant or anti-Semitic, including certain…

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More Sausage, Sacramento Style

Byuclafaculty

A couple of days ago, we provided some insights into the sausage making of a bill in the legislature that would lower tuition with revenue from closing a corporate tax loophole. Today’s LA Times carries an interesting article on the sausage making process behind the governor’s tax initiative on the November ballot, the initiative the Regents have endorsed. Basically, the article looks at the sources of funding for the campaign.  The theme is that various large firms in industries that might be hit by proposals for specific taxes (such as oil, liquor, and soft drinks) if the initiative doesn’t pass…

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Could the legislature pass a last-minute tax with revenue for cutting tuition? A look at the legislative sausage factory

Byuclafaculty

It seemed improbable a bill of that kind could pass until recently, although we have included some reporting about one such bill in two prior posta on this blog.  (Scroll back to August 14 and 15 for those posts.)  And the story of how the legislative sausage is (or might be) made is complicated and involves a bunch of seemingly-unrelated elements.  But there appears to be at least a chance now for the bill to pass.  So let’s start with a cast of characters: John Pérez is speaker of the state assembly.  He is the sponsor of a bill that…

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And Yet Another Bill for the Governor to Sign (or Not)

Byuclafaculty

We have been reporting on bills related to UC that have been sent to Governor Brown for his signature or veto.  Here is another:=== A bill approved by the state Senate would give University of California and California State University research assistants the right to collective bargaining…  It would affect 14,000 research assistants in the UC system and about 2,000 at CSU schools. …Gov. Jerry Brown has until the end of September to act on the bill. Full story at http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/23/4752473/uc-csu-research-assistants-would.html Will Brown sign?  Here is what proponents say: Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/23/4752473/uc-csu-research-assistants-would.html#storylink=cpy

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Before we get all-a-twitter about this issue, maybe the question for the governor is whether there is a problem

Byuclafaculty

Another bill related to higher ed seems to be going to Governor Brown’s desk.  Not clear that section 2(a) is compatible with 2(c). The bill apparently was triggered by reports that some employers were requiring job applicants to hand over their Facebook, Twitter, etc., passwords. But this bill, unlike another in the legislature, refers to universities, not employers. Is it really addressing a known problem?  Even if it is, maybe the governor needs to send this one back for more work; blanket prohibitions can lead to unforeseen difficulties down the road.Last year, Brown vetoed an unrelated bill saying “not every…

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Will He Sign It?

Byuclafaculty

State lawmakers have approved first-in-the-nation legislation requiring California universities with the most high-profile sports programs to provide financial protections for student athletes who suffer career-ending injuries…SB1525 would apply to universities that receive more than $10 million annually in sports media revenue. The bill by Sen. Alex Padilla, a Democrat from Los Angeles, would apply this year to the University of Southern California, UCLA, Berkeley and Stanford University…Full article at http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/22/4749123/bill-would-help-injured-student.html

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Is Catch-Up the Strategy on the Tax Initiative?

Byuclafaculty

The opponents of the governor’s tax initiative are already on the radio advertising.  Although the governor’s campaign for his tax initiative is in principle in motion, the media advertising has yet to begin.  As readers of this blog will know, the Regents have endorsed the governor’s initiative. When Jerry Brown ran for governor in 2010, he also was slow to get going against Meg Whitman.  However, he did win with a concentrated blitz toward the end.  Possibly, that is the strategy now.  It is unclear how much funding opponents will have for full-fledged media campaign as the November election nears….

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More on the Corporate Tax/Scholarship Bill Passed in the Assembly

Byuclafaculty

We earlier posted an entry about a bill that passed in the state assembly which closed a corporate tax loophole and used the funds generated for tuition reduction and UC and CSU.  To get the needed 2/3 for a tax vote, two non-Democrats were required. One was a renegade Republican.  The other was an Independent (former Republican), Nathan Fletcher of San Diego.  Fletcher posted a YouTube video explaining his vote.  As also noted earlier, since a 2/3 vote would also be needed to pass this bill, it is unlikely to be enacted. Nonetheless, the explanation by Fletcher is of interest….

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No Meds for Riverside

Byuclafaculty

UC-Riverside keeps trying to get state funding to open a med school.  But not successfully, so far: From the Press-Enterprise (excerpt):The latest Capitol attempt to secure state funding for UC Riverside’s school of medicine is all but dead after a key Senate committee blocked a bill to allocate $15 million from an expected legal settlement…Full story at:http://www.pe.com/local-news/politics/jim-miller-headlines/20120816-uc-riverside-med-school-funding-bill-stalls.ece