politics

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The State Budget Will Be Signed Tomorrow

Byuclafaculty

From the governor’s office: Governor Brown to Sign State Budget Tomorrow 6-26-2013 SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. will be joined tomorrow by Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker John Pérez as he signs the Budget Act of 2013 (AB 110) in Sacramento.The Governor will also sign ABX1 1 (Pérez) and SBX1 1 (Hernandez-Steinberg), which, in accordance with the federal Affordable Care Act, will help ensure health care coverage for Californians.When: Tomorrow, Thursday, June 27, 2013 at 11:00 a.m.Where: California State Capitol, Governor’s Council Room, Sacramento, CA 95814NOTE: Immediately after the signing event, Department of Finance…

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On Fathers’ Day, Blame it on Dad

Byuclafaculty

Hiram Johnson It’s a bit of an historical stretch to blame California’s dysfunctions on Dad. And it may seem funny to do it after the legislature passed a budget on time as per our earlier post.  However, commentator Joe Mathews does blame Gov. Hiram Johnson’s father for the dysfunctions of the state’s initiative system. Hiram Johnson was the reform governor elected in 1910 who brought in “direct democracy,” the initiative, referendum, and recall (along with women’s suffrage and workers’ compensation insurance). From Mathews (excerpt): Why is California so hard to govern? One reason is that we’re suffering from daddy issues,…

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Budget Enacted – Details & Vetoes to Come

Byuclafaculty

The legislature has passed a state budget which now goes to the governor for signature (he will) and line-item vetoes (some will likely be made).  Thereafter, there should be formal releases of the details by the Dept. of Finance and the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO). In the meantime, the Sacramento Bee has a summary of highlights.  It includes for higher ed: Proposes an average 5 percent general fund increase to California State University, the University of California and community colleges. No fee increases are envisioned through 2016-17. Authorizes scholarships, beginning in the 2014-15 academic year, for UC and CSU students…

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Middle-class scholarships to UC, CSU likely

Byuclafaculty

But not this year! So says the headline in the San Francisco Chronicle: [excerpt] The “Middle-Class Scholarship” proposed by Assembly Speaker John Pérez, D-Los Angeles, would offer tuition discounts for students from families earning $80,000 to $150,000 a year. The program would start in the 2014-15 school year, with partial scholarships costing the state $107 million from its general fund. The state would increase spending on the program each year until it was fully implemented in 2017-18, at a cost of $305 million – assuming 75 percent of eligible students apply. Tuition discounts would decrease as family income rises… Full story at…

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Gov. Jerry Brown’s university plan is left unfinished in budget

Byuclafaculty

That’s what the headline in the LA Times says.  It goes on to say: [excerpt] The final spending plan does not include the governor’s proposal to tie new money for public universities to specific requirements like improving graduation rates and increasing the number of transfer students from community colleges. Nor will the plan automatically cut funding if tuition is increased. The changes emerged after negotiations with lawmakers and officials at the University of California and California State University, who resisted much of Brown’s proposal. For now, universities will simply be required to track nine different benchmarks… Full story at http://www.latimes.com/news/local/political/la-me-pc-jerry-brown-california-universities-20130612,0,6175034.story…

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Want a Riverside Med School? Legislature Says (Commands?) Do It Yourself

Byuclafaculty

There has been ongoing agitation from UC-Riverside and UC for the state to put up money for a med school.  As bits and pieces about the state budget leak out, it appears that the legislature has not provided extra money but instead has told UC to take it out of its general allocation.  Apparently, the legislature doesn’t view this matter as a suggestion; more of a command. From the Riverside Press-Enterprise:The Legislature’s budget conference committee late Monday altered the funding mix for a school of medicine at UC Riverside, eliminating a $15 million augmentation but directing the UC system to…

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Deal Reportedly Reached on the State Budget Between Legislature and Governor

Byuclafaculty

From the governor’s website: Governor Brown Issues Statement on Budget 6-10-2013: SACRAMENTO – Following action from the Joint Legislative Conference Committee on the Budget this evening, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. issued the following statement:  “The Legislature is doing their job and doing it well. It looks like California will get another balanced budget and, very importantly, educational funding that recognizes the different needs of California’s students.” Source: http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18087 The Sacramento Bee indicates that a) the deal is based on the governor’s more conservative revenue estimates as compared to the Legislative Analyst’s numbers* and b) there is (some) money for…

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Legislative Deadline for State Budget is Saturday

Byuclafaculty

This week is deadline week for the legislature to pass a state budget.  The formal deadline is midnight, Saturday, June 15.  As we have noted in earlier postings, there is unlikely to be any budget surprise for UC.  Possibly, there could be some funding beyond the governor’s May revise proposal for student scholarships and Cal Grants.  As previously noted, most of the inconsistencies between the assembly and senate budgets involve K-14 and social programs.  The two houses are using a more optimistic projection of revenues than the governor. Nonetheless, as negotiations proceed, they could reach a fever pitch by Saturday night:

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Is that clear?

Byuclafaculty

Some advice from the Legislative Analyst’s Office to the legislature:Amend BBL in Item 6440-001-0001 to Clarify 2013-14 Enrollment Target for UCThe Legislature expects the University of California to enroll a total of 211,499 state supported full-time equivalent students during the 2013-14 academic year. This enrollment target shall not include nonresident students and Resident students and eligible nonresident students who are exempt from paying resident tuition shall count toward this enrollment target whereas students paying nonresident tuition and students enrolled in non-state supported summer programs shall not count toward the target. This enrollment target expresses the Legislature’s intent that the University…