politics

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Yudof notes UC support for corporate tax bill

Byuclafaculty

Excerpt from the Fresno Bee: …(UC President Yudof indicated that) UC has supported, with amendments, a bill proposed by Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles) that would provide students with a family income less than $150,000 a scholarship to cover about two-thirds of college fees. About 42,000 UC students would receive the Middle Class Scholarship, saving up to $8,169 per year, according to an analysis by the Assembly Democratic Caucus. Approximately 150,000 California State University students would save $4,000 each year, and the California Community Colleges would get $150 million for financial aid.  The money to fund the scholarship…

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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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LA Times is Yes and No on Legislation to Lower Tuition

Byuclafaculty

The LA Times today is unhappy with proposed legislation that would change corporate taxes and raise money for lowering public higher ed tuition. (Excerpt) …SB 1500 and 1501, by Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles) would …eliminat(e) a tax loophole for businesses and us(e) the resulting revenue to provide large scholarships to middle-class students in the state’s public colleges and universities, (and) reduc(e) their tuition costs by two-thirds… We can think of more pressing needs than tuition relief for families earning between $80,000 and $150,000, and no doubt so can Pérez. A properly funded welfare-to-work program, for example, or…

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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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Too Much Old Radio?

Byuclafaculty

The felony charge against a UCLA professor in connection with a fatal lab fire continues.  This blog, in an earlier post, noted another felony case charged against a UCLA political science professor by the Los Angeles District Attorney and questioned whether the criminalization of these matters is appropriate.  The earlier post is at: http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/03/da-overreaching.html From today’s Daily Bruin: The formal reading of felony charges in relation to the 2009 death of a UCLA staff research assistant has been postponed for a third time.  UCLA chemistry Professor Patrick Harran, the UC Board of Regents and the Los Angeles County District Attorney were…

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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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State Pay Ceiling to be Considered in Legislature (but not for UC)

Byuclafaculty

A bill – SB1368 – that would impose a ceiling on pay of state employees of about $174,000 (the governor’s salary) is being reviewed at a state senate hearing today. The bill, introduced by a Republican state senator, does not apply to UC but would apply to CSU.  It appears to have been sparked by pay offered to presidents at various CSU campuses. Even though UC is exempted, thanks to its constitutional position, any such enactment would have an indirect effect on UC pay.  The bill in fact “recommends” that UC adhere to the pay ceiling. A news report on…