politics

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Auditor Looks In: Now that the audit is out, a money-losing hotel would not be advisable

Byuclafaculty

Undoubtedly, the headline on the audit report for UC released today will be the generalized call for more “transparency.” The report produced a nasty back and forth between UCOP and the State Auditor as to whether what the report found was significant or not with UCOP effectively suggesting that the audit was a waste of money. The audit was the product of a request by state senator Leland Yee – now running for mayor of San Francisco – who has made something of a career out of criticizing the university. That being said, there is material in the report about…

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No More Hired Guns?

Byuclafaculty

Governor blasts California universities’ hiring of pricey presidents:Jerry Brown criticizes the trend of paying high salaries to ‘hired guns’ from out of state instead of seeking Californians who might take less Carla Rivera, Los Angeles Times, July 28, 2011 Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday criticized leaders of California’s public universities for recruiting highly paid “hired guns” from across the country to run campuses instead of looking for home-grown talent that might be willing to work for lower salaries. The governor said officials at California State University and the University of California appeared in recent salary decisions to have adopted a…

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Could Washington Debt-Ceiling Impasse Adversely Affect UC?

Byuclafaculty

The simple answer is – as someone said – you betcha! Chaotic financial conditions – if such occur – can damage the economy, e.g., 2008, and ultimately cut into state tax revenue. Drops in the value of financial assets hurts the pension fund (and the individual 403b and 457b accounts of UC employees) and other funds UC maintains. Significant funding flows from the federal government to UC in the form of research contracts, Medicare payments, etc. Will that be interrupted? Who knows? This is one social science experiment we would do well not to undertake. Bottom Line: There is no…

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Higher Ed Dream Act (One of Them) Signed by Governor

Byuclafaculty

Gov. Brown signed AB 130 by Assemblymember Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles) – Student financial aid: eligibility: California Dream Act of 2011. The new law allows illegal alien children who have been raised in California to receive financial aid in public higher education institutions (UC, CSU, community colleges). However, the aid to which the law refers is private scholarship money. The issue of such aid has arisen in the controversy over tuition increases at UC. Although the university provides assistance to lower-income students, it cannot do so with public monies including tuition money to illegal alien students. Protests over UC tuition…

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Governors’ (not Governor’s) Report on Public Higher Ed

Byuclafaculty

At the recent National Governors Association conference – which Gov. Brown did not attend – there was a report on higher education, mainly public higher education. The general theme was that there would be budget pressures on public higher ed indefinitely but that higher ed was important for workforce reasons. The report emphasizes metrics for measuring the output of higher ed such as graduation rates, transfer rates, job finding of grads, etc. You can read the report below: Open publication – Free publishing – More governors

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Bill Says Pay Tuition Later (and Don’t Call It Tuition)

Byuclafaculty

State bill seeks more warning on tuition hikes July 7, 2011, Heather Somerville, Fresno Bee Student advocacy groups have stepped up their lobbying this week for a bill to make California State University and University of California officials give students at least six months notice before raising tuition… The bill, proposed by the UC and CSU student associations, would compel university officials to find other ways to manage budget cuts than their “knee-jerk” reaction of increasing fees, said Olgalilia Ramirez, director of government relations for (California State Student Association). AB 970 would require officials to consult with students before raising…

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Action Needed Before We Get Boxed In on Pensions in 2012

Byuclafaculty

One impact of the recently-enacted state budget is that – because it was done without Republican support – there will be no special election this calendar year and, therefore, no propositions dealing with public pensions. In 2012, however, there could be pension-related items on the ballot. California senate leader Darrell Steinberg had this to say about what the legislative Democrats might put on the ballot: Steinberg pointed to Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposals to eliminate purchase of air time, prohibit so-called pension holidays and retroactive pension increases and ban payment of pension benefits to employees who are convicted of a felony…

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Republicans Offer Public Pension Proposition But Can’t Surmount 2/3 Hurdle

Byuclafaculty

Once California legislative Republicans were cut out of the budget process, they lost their ability to negotiate a pension proposition to be put on the ballot. Of course, such propositions can be placed on the ballot via initiative. But since there is no special election being called to deal with tax extensions, any such initiative would likely have to await until 2012. Republicans have asked the legislature to put a pension proposition on the ballot. But they would need to overcome a 2/3 vote hurdle which won’t happen with a Democratic majority. Nonetheless, the proposal indicates what Republicans might have…

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For $200, You, Too, Can File a Pension Initiative!

Byuclafaculty

There are potentially serious threats via the direct democracy process that could override the Regents’ December action on the UC pension. But there are also initiatives on pensions (and other public issues) that are filed with no prospect they will go anywhere since the authors don’t have the $1-$2 million needed to hire signature-gathering firms. Here is an excerpt from a recent example that is now pending at the Attorney General: …The members of the retirement board of a public pension or retirement system shall on and after January 1, 2016, invest and maintain at least 85 percent of the…

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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…