State Budget

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Audio of Regents Meeting on Budget, 3-16-11, For Your Listening Pleasure

Byuclafaculty

The Regents meeting this morning dealt with budgetary issues. There were reports by three chancellors (from Santa Cruz, Irvine, and Berkeley) on the impact of the budget squeeze on their campuses. The Regents had various reactions to the situation. Plans were offered by Peter Taylor to generate more cash through portfolio management. He argued that even though somewhat more risk was entailed, the proposals were sufficiently conservative to insulate UC from a crisis. There was discussion of a new plan under which UCOP would pass state funding down to the campus level so that campuses would operate more autonomously. The…

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Field Poll suggests voter support for tax extensions

Byuclafaculty

The California Field Poll suggests voter support for the governor’s proposed tax extensions. The table above summarizes the results when the question is asked generally. When it is asked more explicitly (see below, naming the taxes), there is somewhat less support (58%) but still a majority. “The governor is proposing to extend for five more years the one-cent increase in the state sales tax, the ½ percent increase in vehicle license fees and the ¼ percent increase in personal income taxes that the state enacted in 2009. Some of the money would be transferred to local governments for schools, public…

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Pension train may roll through UC’s pension changes. Does anyone at UCOP even know where that train is?

Byuclafaculty

As noted in earlier posts, the pension train is rolling in Sacramento and could easily override the changes in UCRP made by the Regents last December. Is anyone from UCOP articulating a UC position? The kind of caps being discussed are too low for UC faculty. See below for the latest: Pension focus shifts: hybrid, caps and the big one (excerpt) Ed Mendel, calpensions.com As Gov. Brown seeks crucial budget votes, one reform proposed by five Republican senators would switch new hires to “hybrid” pensions, a cost-cutting combination of lower pensions and 401(k)-style individual investment plans. The governor, who also…

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Deadline day for the state budget has arrived without a budget vote. Is everything out of control?

Byuclafaculty

As prior posts have noted, Gov. Brown set a deadline of 60 days after his budget proposal was announced to have a budget passed and to obtain a 2/3 vote from the legislature to put his tax extensions on the ballot. Today is deadline day and he still has no deal for the Republican votes needed for the tax extensions. Democrats could pass a budget by majority vote that assumes there will be tax extensions but if there is no ballot vote, the budget would be out of whack. You can read about it at http://www.sacbee.com/2011/03/10/3463706/day-60-what-now.html We also noted in…

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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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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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April 14th Undergrad UC Budget Protest/Event Announced

Byuclafaculty

Below is the text of an email received by yours truly announcing an undergraduate-sponsored UC budget protest/event scheduled for April 14: Dear friends, family, and community supporters, This year, the UC Regents passed the fourth consecutive fee increase in the past two years, and as a further blow, Governor Jerry Brown recently released his budget proposal, initiating a massive $500 million cut to the University of California. The University of California used to stand as the model for higher education, but education has clearly fallen in the list of state priorities. It is time that we organize. Small protests and…

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Community Colleges Push to Offer 4-Year Degrees, But Don’t Hold Your Breath Waiting for It to Happen

Byuclafaculty

Under the 1960 Master Plan, California community colleges were reorganized and given an explicit mission of AA and vocational degrees plus providing the first 2 years of college. Students who could not gain admission to UC or CSU could enter a community college and, if successful in completing the two year program, transfer to a UC or CSU campus. As is well known, the Master Plan has been eroding, certainly on tuition. There has also been some erosion of the notion that PhDs would be offered only at UC. There has been a push by some community colleges to expand…

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Former Chancellor Young on Modified Self Sufficiency

Byuclafaculty

The 2011 edition of California Policy Options is now available and contains a chapter by former UCLA Chancellor Charles Young entitled “Policy Options for University of California Budgeting.” Click on the website address below (not the picture on the right) and go to chapter 5 for the Young chapter in which he advocates “modified self sufficiency.” You can also find a chapter on the state budget (chapter 1) by yours truly entitled “Government by (Hot) Checks and (Im)Balances.” Go to http://issuu.com/uclapubaffairs/docs/cpo2011 Other chapters on current California issues are included as well.