UC Regents

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Too Much Pension News (and Some Useful Data)

Byuclafaculty

The Regents Committee on Compliance and Audit is meeting via teleconference on Nov. 7 in advance of the general Regents meeting the following week. We will post the audio when it becomes available. The agenda for the full Regents meeting has not been posted yet, but the Regents are likely to have some discussion related to the governor’s pension proposals. Included in the Committee’s agenda is an audit of the pension plan. Below is a data summary taken from that audit. The full document is at: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/nov11/a5attach4.pdf = = = = = = = = = = = = =…

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Crane Likely to Pick Up on Pension Issue at Next Regents Meeting

Byuclafaculty

Regent David Crane – a last-minute appointee to the Regents by Gov. Schwarzenegger – has been a public pension hawk and has made remarks about collective bargaining that ensured he would not be confirmed. Assuming he attends the November Regents meeting (Crane’s last given the non-confirmation), he is likely to say something about the pension issue. The Regents’ agenda for November is not yet posted. But even if the pension item is not a formal agenda topic, Crane can bring it up. That is not a Bad Thing. The Regents should be informed about the impact of the governor’s pension…

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The Morning After (the Guv’s Pension Plan): What Do We Know?

Byuclafaculty

It’s the morning after the governor’s press conference announcing his pension proposals – and we still do not have definite word as to whether UC is covered. The LA Times version says all state and local employees are covered. Excerpt: Who would be affected? All state and local public employees. Current workers would be expected to pay at least half of their retirement costs, but the higher retirement age and new savings plan would apply only to employees hired later. See http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/la-me-pension-qa-20111028,0,4930171.story And there is a lot of fuzziness in the announced plan. For example, how do you “cap” a…

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The Guv on Pensions: What did he say?

Byuclafaculty

Governor Brown has now held his press conference on public pensions. His proposals clearly covered CalPERS and CalSTRS. Coverage of UC was not mentioned. But the governor did make an off-hand reference to UC’s long pension holiday, i.e., the two-decade period of zero contributions. The governor released a 12-point plan but one element, a kind of total cap on pension amounts, was not mentioned on the list of the twelve. [A cap is mentioned but not linked to defined contributions.] Yet, in response to a reporter’s question, he said a cap was intended but that it was complicated because of…

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UC or not UC? – That is the question (to be answered in a few hours)

Byuclafaculty

Bits and pieces of Governor Brown’s public pension plan are leaking out ahead of his news conference later today. UC or not UC, that is the question, as Hamlet might say. But the leaked reports don’t provide the answer so we will have to wait a few hours more. The Capitol Alert report from last night and another from KCAL indicate that the reason Brown wants a ballot prop is to change the CalPERS board. Excerpt from Capitol Alert: Gov. Jerry Brown will propose a higher retirement age and a less generous pension system for newly-hired state workers, sources familiar…

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Follow Up: GASB proposals could stir things up for UCRP via CalSTRS

Byuclafaculty

Yesterday, we noted proposed changes in public pension accounting rules by GASB, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. An observation from Academic Council Chair Robert Anderson, added to that blog note, indicated that the GASB proposal would not have a direct impact on UCRP. However, the problem facing UCRP is partly political. As prior blog posts have noted, the governor is planning some kind of pension proposals – apparently requiring a ballot proposition. Such a proposition, depending on how it is worded, could sweep UCRP into a statewide change, even though the Regents enacted their own pension modifications in December 2010….

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Pension Train Is Leaving the Station

Byuclafaculty

The Legislature has formed a joint committee to hold meetings around the state on public pensions. As noted in a prior blog post, the governor seems to be formulating his own proposal which he says will involve constitutional changes and need a vote of the electorate. On the joint committee: Legislative leaders have named six lawmakers to a joint committee that will hold hearings on changes to public employee pension systems. Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez has appointed Michael Allen, D-Santa Rosa, Warren Furutani, D-Gardena and Jim Silva, R-Huntington Beach. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg has appointed Gloria Negrete…

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Cal State-Westwood?

Byuclafaculty

Gov. Pat Brown signs the Donahoe Act in 1960 implementing the Master Plan for Higher Education. The LA Times ran an editorial yesterday, lamenting rising tuition at UC and the lack of state support. It also threw out some suggestions. Among them: …The university also should consider a temporary policy that favors admission to students in the immediate geographical area for a certain percentage of new undergraduates. That way, more students could live at home and avoid the hefty cost of a dorm. UC campuses are not usually commuter schools, but troubled times call for a willingness to make sensible…

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UC Regents Meeting: Sept. 15, 2011

Byuclafaculty

The Regents met Sept. 13-15, 2011. Yesterday, we posted audio for the first two days. This is Day 3. That day is significant for what did not happen, namely approval of President Yudof’s plan for a multi-year schedule of tuition increases in light of diminishing state budget support. The audio is divided into Parts 1 and 2. Part 2 contains the discussion in which the Regents fret about the budget situation but do not act. The agenda for Day 3: 8:30 am Committee of the Whole (public comment) http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/sept11/cw15.pdf 8:50 am Committee on Compensation (open session) http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/sept11/comp1.pdf 9:00 am Committee…

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Regents Meeting Audio: Sept. 13-14, 2011 (excerpt of the 13th)

Byuclafaculty

Below you can listen to audio from the first two days of the Sept. 13-15, 2011 Regents meeting. We will post the audio for Sept. 15 later. Note that we have already posted excerpts from the September Regents meetings recorded by Jim Chalfant. The audios below were obtained from the Regents. Tuesday, September 13, 2011: ======================Note: The audio received from the Regents for Sept. 13 runs only 25 minutes and appears to be incomplete. If a fuller version becomes available, it will be posed. ——————-Agenda 1:00 pm Committee on Compliance and Audit (Regents only session) http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/sept11/auditx.pdf 1:15 pm Committee on…