politics

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Prius Public Pensions?

Byuclafaculty

An earlier post noted the ongoing negotiations between Governor Brown and certain GOP legislators as he tries to get a couple of Republican votes for his budget proposal. A 2/3 vote in the legislature is needed to put the governor’s tax extensions on the June ballot and at the moment he doesn’t have 2/3. (As previous posts have also noted, there might be a technical work-around the 2/3 rule, but is is more technical than practical.) One of the items for which Republicans are holding out is what is termed a “hybrid pension.” This notion surfaced as part of the…

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Has Brown’s Budget Plan Been Sunk by GOP Opposition: It’s Not Over ‘Til It’s Over

Byuclafaculty

From today’s Sacramento Bee (excerpt): Gov. Jerry Brown’s prospects of reaching a budget deal by his deadline this week dimmed markedly Monday when a quintet of Republicans with whom he’d been negotiating declared an impasse. The GOP senators for the first time released a list of demands – covering pensions, spending restrictions and education reforms, among other things – and said the Democratic governor and his legislative allies were unable to fulfill them. “We accepted your invitation to bring you our ideas on important structural reforms and willingly took to heart your admonition ‘to get out of our comfort zone,’…

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Non-Budget Bills on UC Introduced in the Legislature

Byuclafaculty

The prior post on this blog noted the progress of the state budget in the legislature. Below are some bills introduced related to higher ed and UC. There was a February 18 deadline for members to introduce bills although there are ways around that restriction. As yours truly has noted in the past, the legislature has never taken to the notion of “no pay/no say.” That is, even though the proposed state budget would contribute roughly 1/8th of the UC budget (and less if the tax extensions do not pass), the legislature feels free to micro-manage. Yours truly has noted…

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Progress Report on the State Budget

Byuclafaculty

In case you are wondering where things are concerning the state budget, the Sacramento Bee reports that, “…famed primatologist Jane Goodall paid a visit to the Senate floor during a short floor session Thursday, greeting lawmakers with the call of a wild chimpanzee…” Full report at: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/03/herbie-hancock-jane-goodall-wo.html#ixzz1FjzoJO6q No invitation has been extended yet to Goodall from the Academic Senate so the audio – enhanced from the Bee website – is below: More seriously, there are rumors about deals being cut with selected Republicans to obtain the 2/3 vote necessary to put the governor’s proposed tax extensions on the ballot. Exactly…

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News from the Legislature for Legal Beagles

Byuclafaculty

A complex game is playing out over whether a simple majority or a super-majority of the legislature could place Governor Brown’s proposed tax extensions on the ballot. You might think that the Democrats, who have a majority but not a 2/3 majority, would be eager for a ruling that only a simple majority is required. But, in fact, it is the Republicans who have sought such an opinion and now have one from the legislature’s legislative counsel. There appear to be two advantages to the Republicans of an opinion that suggests a simple majority would do the trick. First, none…

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How Now Brown Budget? The Clock is Ticking

Byuclafaculty

As previous posts have noted, Gov. Brown needs a 2/3 vote to put his tax extension proposals – which are an integral part of his budget plan – on the ballot by June. (The current fiscal year ends June 30.) It is unusual for a governor to testify before a legislative committee but he did so yesterday. Most of the testimony was in fact aimed at legislative Republicans who have made no-tax-increase pledges. A video of the testimony from the Sacramento Bee is below. The references to dispensations and vows refer both to the pledges and the governor’s Jesuit background….

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Little Hoover is Coming

Byuclafaculty

On the left, you see Herbert Hoover as a young child. Relevance? It is reported in today’s Sacramento Bee that the state’s Little Hoover Commission will be issuing a report on public pensions in California. The State Worker: New debate looms on public pensions Feb. 24, 2011, Jon Ortiz Get ready for a new round of debate over public pensions that could shape California’s intensifying budget talks and even wind up putting some sort of rollback on the legislative agenda. The bipartisan Little Hoover Commission plans to release a report today on California’s public pensions, complete with suggested changes. …The…

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Where Is the Budget? Gov. Brown Is Having Diffculty With His Own Party

Byuclafaculty

California voters last November approved a change in the state constitution allowing budgets to be passed with a simple majority vote. As prior posts noted, it appears that Gov. Brown’s budget, while it can be passed with a simple majority, is linked to a ballot proposition that will likely need a 2/3 vote. But put aside the 2/3 problem for a moment. As of now, it is not clear that Brown can get a majority vote for the budget itself, even though both houses of the legislature are controlled by Democrats. The TV ad below is a good illustration of…

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Pension Deal in Legislature to Gain GOP Votes?

Byuclafaculty

There continue to be reports that the Republican price for going along with putting Gov. Brown’s proposed tax extensions on the ballot will be some kind of public pension proposition. To recap, Brown needs the legislature to put his tax extensions on the ballot by June; there is not enough time to go the petition-signature-initiative route. The legislature would normally need a 2/3 vote to do so which would require all Democrats plus 5 Republicans to agree. While there has been discussion of ways to bypass the 2/3 requirement, such an approach could lead to a legal challenge which could…

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Come July 1, UCOP and the Regents Better Have a Plan B

Byuclafaculty

As appeared more and more likely when the Brown budget proposal was being leaked out, a critical part of the plan involves getting voters to approve an extension of temporary tax increases that were originally approved in Feb. 2009. An added complication – more political than legal – is that the income tax increase has expired. So withholding from paychecks has dropped and would be restarted retroactively if such a measure were passed. This fact will add to the argument that the ballot measure is a tax “increase” rather than an “extension.” Republicans have been increasing emphatic that they will…