politics

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Will Crane Fly?

Byuclafaculty

Earlier blog posts have noted the appointment in late December of David Crane to the UC Regents by outgoing Governor Schwarzenegger. Crane is noted for his advocacy of putting public pension changes on the ballot, e.g., http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/02/04/EDU01HHUPL.DTL As the article below notes, Crane has yet to be confirmed by the California Senate and is facing considerable opposition. It is possible, however, that as part of some larger deal on the budget – which could itself involve pensions, Crane would be confirmed. If that happens, there would be a voice on the Regents that might be advocating some future ballot proposition…

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If You’ve Got a Few Hours to Spare Staring at Your Computer Screen: 2 Suggestions

Byuclafaculty

The Economist magazine and the Lewis Center of the Luskin School of Public Affairs sponsored a forum at UCLA on April 26 on governance problems in California. You can see a video below (which runs about an hour and a half). Yours truly is at minute 45 to minute 51 and at later points. The forum centered on the Economist issue of that week which focused on California and tended to put the blame for current dysfunction in Sacramento on direct democracy – the initiative process. Earlier, former UCLA Chancellor gave the 2011 Bollens-Ries-Hoffenberg lecture in which he outlined his…

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State Spending Cap Initiative: Is It for Real?

Byuclafaculty

Related to the prior post is a second initiative – also one that was submitted in connection with GOP legislative negotiations with the governor – that would cap state expenditures based on a formula linked to inflation and population growth. As with the pension initiative, it is unclear whether there is funding to obtain the needed signatures. This initiative in effect proposes to return to the Gann limit that was approved by voters in 1979 as the “son of Prop 13” that had been approved the year before. The Gann limit on state spending was largely gutted by Prop 98…

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Pension Initiative Advances Toward Petition Stage But Is It For Real?

Byuclafaculty

When initiatives are filed, the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) provides an analysis, primarily of budgetary implications. Readers of this blog will know that an initiative was filed – apparently as part of the negotiations strategy of Republican legislators with the governor – which would put certain limits on public pensions. The LAO has now provided an analysis. The initiative would affect both new hires and current employees with regard to an increase in the minimum age of retirement. It is pointed out in the LAO’s analysis that this provision might well be illegal. The initiative also sets a 60% cap…

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UC Pension Swept In (and away?)

Byuclafaculty

As noted in a prior post, an organization known as the “California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility” issued a study yesterday on public pensions. UCRP is included in the study but is not discussed. As often noted on this blog, that has been a general problem of discussions of the pension issue in California. UC is swept in but, at the same time, its special features are neglected and the focus is instead on CalPERS and other plans. In the frenzy over public pensions – with possible ballot initiatives (or possibly some deal on the state budget that would involve pensions…

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Texas A&M Alumni Complain About Political Interference

Byuclafaculty

Inside Higher Ed pointed to the development reported below in the Houston Chronicle on the attempt by Texas Gov. Perry (right) and a management consultant to impose a faculty evaluation system at the U of Texas and Texas A&M. Prior posts on this blog have pointed to the issue: Signaling the spread of a roiling controversy, 22 “distinguished alumni” at Texas A&M University on Tuesday criticized higher education reforms advocated by Gov. Rick Perry and an influential campaign contributor as “naïve … proposals from inexperienced individuals.” The “Open Letter to the Texas A&M University Community” criticized the proposals of Jeff…

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UC Pension Plan May Be Targeted Today

Byuclafaculty

A group whose funding sources are cloudy – the California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility – plans a grand unveiling today of a study on pension funding in California. The report below indicates it covers California’s 5 biggest pension funds. After CalPERS and CalSTRS, UCRP is the 3rd largest at the state level. As numerous posts on this blog have indicated, ballot initiatives aimed at capping pensions could affect UC and override the Regents’ action on the UC pension taken last December. UC could be swept into some statewide initiative even if it is not a central target of the study….

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Severance Pay from Oil?

Byuclafaculty

A new ballot initiative is going into circulation which imposes an oil severance tax for education, including higher ed. It apparently has some level of endorsement from community colleges. However, there is no money at this point for signature gathering. Hiring signature-gathering firms for an initiative costs $1-$2 million. The backers say they will use students, Facebook, etc. So far, no one has gotten anything on the ballot in recent memory without hiring signature-gathering firms. Of course, getting something on the ballot is only a first step. You then need lots more money for TV ads, particularly if you take…

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Where’s the Money?

Byuclafaculty

The legislature is in the habit of recommending what UC should be doing, but not offering to pay for it. Below is a recent example which yours truly became aware of from an article in the “educated guess” blog today (excerpt): (Darrell) Steinberg, the Senate president pro tem, is the author of SB 611, which would write into law the mission of a new UC institute charged with overseeing the design of career tech courses satisfying the entrance requirements to UC and the California State University system. It’s in a package of three Steinberg bills that would significantly reshape K-12…

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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…