State Budget

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Listen to (Partial) Audio of Afternoon Regents Session: 5-16-12

Byuclafaculty

The Regents met in Sacramento on May 16, 2012.  Sacramento was chosen so they could lobby legislators after the meeting.  The morning session was interrupted by a demonstration.  At that time, the Regents went to another location and moved to the closed sessions on the agenda below, presumably while the room was cleared.  The intent was to resume the open part of the meeting after the room was cleared.  The morning session up to the demonstration has been separated posted (the prior post today). Because items were taken out of order as a result of the demonstration, it was unclear…

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The Governor’s May Revise Budget (including audio)

Byuclafaculty

Governor Jerry Brown presented his May Revise budget for 2012-13 at a news conference earlier today.  It was followed by a question-and-answer session with state Finance Director Ana Matosantos.  In general terms, the May Revise followed the format of the original January proposal in that it included the assumption that voters would approve a tax initiative in November and that, if they didn’t, there would be trigger cuts.  Since January, as readers of this blog will know, revenues came in below forecast levels and a revised tax initiative was negotiated.  In addition, the state has been prevented from making certain…

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The Hole Story Has Yet to Be Told

Byuclafaculty

Governor Brown says there is a big “hole” in the state budget that he will tell us about on Monday in the May Revise.  As readers of this blog will know, yours truly does not like the loose way in which the state budget is described.  Words such as hole, gap, deficit, etc., are used interchangeably and without clear definition.  Try looking up “hole” in an accounting textbook.  Stocks and flows are mixed together.  Time periods vary.  Nonetheless, here is what Brown said in a video just released:[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPc85z9uhJQ&w=320&h=195] Whatever “hole” means, it won’t be pleasant.  Nonetheless, yours truly will attempt…

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November Tax Could Go Up in Smoke in June

Byuclafaculty

You probably know that Governor Brown has now filed his tax initiative for the November ballot.  He will be unveiling his May Revise 2012-13 budget proposal this coming Monday and it is likely to be unpleasant since state tax revenues are coming in below forecast levels for this year.  Exactly how UC will fare in the new proposal is unknown but it was the target of trigger cuts in the January version; the trigger would be pulled if voters do not pass the governor’s tax initiative.  (Ultimately, of course, the budget and any triggers must be enacted by the legislature;…

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Trending Down

Byuclafaculty

PPIC has issued a report noting that California enrollments have been dropping at UC and CSU as the state has cut funding and tuition has risen.  The chart above is from that report.  UC and CSU actually have been admitting a higher percentage of high school grads but those admitted increasingly go elsewhere.  Excerpt: California’s financial commitment to higher education has been compromised by fiscal crises and competing state priorities. Despite large increases in the demand for higher education, state general fund spending in this area has declined notably over the past ten years. California now spends more on corrections…

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Regents to Discuss (Not Enact) Possible Future Tuition Increases at May 16 Meeting

Byuclafaculty

Excerpts from the Fresno Bee: University of California students could face significantly higher tuition if the state doesn’t increase funding and voters reject the governor’s tax initiative, school administrators said Tuesday.  Under one scenario, the 10-campus system would raise tuition by 6 percent this fall if the state doesn’t increase funding by $125 million for 2012-13, according to a document posted online ahead of next week’s UC Board of Regents meeting.  The university would need to consider a mid-year tuition increase in the “range of double digits” – or make drastic cuts to campus programs and staffing – if voters…

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Disappointing State Revenues

Byuclafaculty

The state controller’s cash report for the fiscal year through April is now out.  Despite the blip in tax receipts in April due to the seasonal impact of the  income tax, revenues are down by over $3 billion compared to what the governor had forecast in January.  Compared to what the budget enacted last June for 2011-12 had projected, we are down over $5 billion. How all of this will play out with regard to the governor’s tax initiative in November is unclear.  The kind of cash problems that led to IOUs in 2009 are unlikely to repeat.  Thanks to…

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Gov. Brown: “Vote for the Tax. Suck it In.”

Byuclafaculty

There probably have been more enticing campaign slogans for ballot initiatives.  But Governor Brown seems to have come up with one that is, well, quotable for the November ballot initiative campaign.  He does appear to have gathered the necessary signatures to get the tax initiative on the ballot, despite a very short timeline for doing so.  UC is likely to endorse the initiative in one way or another.  Details athttp://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2012/05/jerry-brown-says-tax-signatures-in-hand.html

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Moving Toward Michigan

Byuclafaculty

This blog previously noted the rise in non-California students at UC and UCLA (who pay full tuition) that has occurred as a response to the ongoing budget crisis.  See http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/04/it-doesnt-seem-to-add-up.html.  Today, the Sacramento Bee features the story and notes the “Michigan Model” as analogous to UC’s approach.  Although UCLA has said it just adds non-state students (as opposed to displacing in-state students), it appears from the numbers as reported in the previous post that there is some displacement. Excerpts from the Bee: …UC officials are aggressively courting non-resident students through college fairs and high school counselors… System officials say the push beyond…

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Not Up to Forecast

Byuclafaculty

Readers of this blog will know that tax aficionados track the April state income tax receipts since April is the big month for those receipts.  As it turned out, and despite some initial optimism in the early part of the month, income tax revenue came in a little under last year’s total and about $2 billion below what the governor had forecast. The daily tracker is athttp://www.sco.ca.gov/april_2012_personal_income_tax_tracker.html Maybe the best things in life are free but…[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_DJhEXmOmY&w=320&h=195]