politics

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Governor Signs Dream Act

Byuclafaculty

Jerry Brown signs California Dream Act 10-8-11Capitol Alert Gov. Jerry Brown today signed legislation allowing undocumented immigrant college students to receive public financial aid, marking California’s relatively liberal ground in a bitter row over immigration nationwide. The California Dream Act allows access to public financial aid, including Cal Grants, for undocumented students who came to the country before turning 16 and attended California high schools. Those students already are eligible for in-state tuition, and Brown in July signed a companion measure affording them access to private financial aid… Brown, a Democrat, supported the act during last year’s gubernatorial campaign, and…

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Backdoor?

Byuclafaculty

Gov. Brown has until Sunday to decide to sign or veto the remaining bills on his desk. Among them is SB 185 – the bill that sparked the anti-affirmative action “bake sale” at UC-Berkeley. It is unclear what the governor will do, although the speculation yours truly has seen so far suggests he will sign it. On the other hand, recent vetoes suggest he is reluctant to fiddle with California’s direct democracy. (He vetoed legislation that would have indirectly impeded use of paid signature gatherers, for example.) And the delay in announcing what he will do suggests the governor is…

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A Political Factoid for Today

Byuclafaculty

Question: Can a UC campus foundation give money to ballot campaigns? If so, has it happened? Answer: The UCLA Foundation has twice given money to campaigns for ballot propositions in the past decade. Both propositions involved money for higher ed, including UC. In 2004, the Foundation gave $57,087 to support Prop 55 – a bond measure for education which narrowly passed. In 2006, it gave $87,550 in support of Prop 1D – also an education bond measure but which passed by a respectable 56.9%. Other UC and CSU foundations have made similar contributions. You can find the contribution information by…

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Looks Like Crane Won’t Fly

Byuclafaculty

From the LA Times’ LA Now blog: San Francisco businessman David Crane’s brief term as a UC regent seems likely to be over in December because Democrats in the state Senate have not moved to confirm his appointment nine months ago by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Under state rules, an appointee to the university board can serve up to a year without legislative confirmation. The state Senate is now in recess and no special session is scheduled for the rest of the year. Crane, a Democrat who was an economic advisor to Schwarzenegger, a Republican, is opposed by labor unions…

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No Smoking at the Regents

Byuclafaculty

Despite the one-time endorsement of a past ex-officio Regent (see picture at left), the new headline is “UC Regents endorse Perata’s tobacco tax measure.” (Well, we did name the UCLA hospital after him.) Excerpt from news item below: Josh Richman, September 16th, 2011 The Regents of the University of California have endorsed the tobacco-tax-for-cancer-research ballot measure co-chaired by former state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, perhaps seeing a windfall of research dollars in their future. In a public hearing Wednesday, Perata – a 2010 Oakland mayoral candidate who now lives in Orinda – had told the Regents’ Committee on…

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Some Time – But Not Too Much – Can Go By on Pensions

Byuclafaculty

As has been stressed ad nauseum on this blog, UC could be swept into some statewide pension changes which would override the Regents’ action of December 2010. The legislature seems to be giving UC a bit of time to have some influence. See below: Lawmakers essentially threw in the towel Thursday on comprehensive public pension reform – at least for now. With this year’s legislative session scheduled to end at midnight today, the Assembly voted 51-21 to approve a last-minute bill declaring its commitment to pension reform but conceding that more time is needed. …The measure reads: “This bill would…

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Zen Vetoes

Byuclafaculty

Governor Brown has been vetoing and signing. Among the vetoes were two that would have made commercial initiative signature gathering more difficult. One was a ban on paying signature gatherers by the signature. They would have then been paid by the hour which would have changed the incentive structure in a way that would have undermined name gathering. In theory, they would have sat in front of supermarkets and watched the clock tick rather than annoy people into signing. And he vetoed another bill that would have required signature gatherers to wear large badges saying they were being paid. Presumably,…

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More on the state budget “trigger”

Byuclafaculty

As readers of this blog will know, the state budget for the current fiscal year contains a “trigger” for additional cuts – including UC – if revenue falls short of forecast levels. – – – September 6, 2011, Capitol Alert California Democrats getting nervous about trigger cuts Lagging tax revenues are making California officials nervous about “trigger” budget cuts to schools and services that appear likely unless more money flows into state coffers or the economic outlook improves. A newly amended Democratic bill would require the Department of Finance to give at least 10 days notice if it determines the…

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What Does Crane’s Proposed Grand Bargain Mean for UC?

Byuclafaculty

Regent-designate David Crane – a late appointment by Gov. Schwarzenegger who has yet to be confirmed (or not) by the state senate – has pushed various versions of pension reform. In an op ed today in the Sacramento Bee, he seems to be appealing to the current governor. Whether that will carry any weight in the state senate is not clear. Basically, he wants a “Grand Bargain” on a corporate tax change – which Gov. Brown has pushed – in exchange for pension reform. Crane says nothing specifically about the UC pension, however. Is he just talking about CalPERS and…