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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
October 19, 2001
CAPITOL NEWS
1. San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown may run for the state Senate in 2004. Brown would run for the seat currently held by Senator John Burton, who is scheduled to be termed out that year. The Mayor’s plans could change, however, if Senator Burton is allowed to run for a third term under the provisions of an initiative currently in circulation. That initiative (which needs 670,816 certified signatures by October 1 to qualify for the March 5, 2002 ballot), would allow termed-out legislators to run for one additional term if a sufficient number of voters in their district sign a petition to that effect. Mayor Brown has indicated he would not challenge Senator Burton if the initiative makes the ballot and is approved by voters.
CSU’s Governmental Affairs Office reports that Brown is formally kicking off his campaign with a fundraiser on November 17, which is expected to raise more than $1 million.
2. History was made on October 10, when Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D - San Francisco) was elected Democratic Whip in the House of Representatives. Pelosi beat rival, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D - Maryland) in a fairly close vote, 118-95, to become the first woman in the history of Congress to hold such a high leadership post--the second highest in the Democratic party. No Californian has held this position since former Congressman Tony Coelho (D - Merced) resigned as House majority whip in 1989.
Party whips help floor leaders keep track of their members, lobby them for votes, count votes to determine when to bring a bill to the floor, and make sure members are present for the vote. In the last 50 years, five former whips have ascended to the position of House Speaker--including Democrat Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill and Republican Newt Gingrich. Vice President Dick Cheney also served as his party’s whip, elected to that post in 1988, shortly after being elected to his 6th term in the House, representing Wyoming, and before being picked to be Secretary of State by George Bush (senior).
Pelosi is 61, and has served eight terms in the House of Representatives.
3. House and Senate pass appropriation bills for Labor, Health & Human Services & Education. The House version proposes $12.4 billion in Student Financial Aid, an increase of $1.7 billion over last year. The bill includes an increase of $250 for Pell Grants, $150 more than President Bush asked for, bringing the maximum up to $4,000.
The Senate version contains similar spending increases, but also includes one element that the House version lacks: funding for “soft earmarks.” The House chose not to include funds for any earmarks in its version. This difference is significant for CSUN because the Senate appropriations bill includes a soft earmark in the amount of a million dollars for a CSUN project relating to proposed new entertainment engineering curriculum. This issue is one of many that will be sent to a conference committee for resolution. Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon has indicated he will ask the House members of the committee to support the CSUN proposal.
4. The House of Representatives this week passed legislation to extend the moratorium on Internet Taxes for two additional years. As reported in this week’s Capitol Hill Bulletin, H.R. 1552 was passed by voice vote. The current moratorium was set to expire on Sunday, October 21. As initially written, the bill asked for a five-year extension and a permanent ban on Internet access charges. CHB reports that the House Judiciary Committee amended the bill to reduce the extension and eliminate the permanent ban.
As currently written, the bill prohibits taxes on Internet access charges and multiple and/or discriminatory taxes on Internet transactions.
The Senate has not taken action yet on the bill; CHB reports that the White House issued a statement in support of the two-year extension.
5. The latest reports on campaign financing, which cover the period of July 1 to September 30, are available on the Secretary of State website: http://www.ss.ca.gov Although it’s still early in the fund-raising game, the report shows wide disparities in money collected by candidates running for statewide offices. Governor Davis is reported as having $30+ million on hand, while his closest rival, former Mayor Richard Riordan, has $2.3 million.
In the race for Secretary of State, Assembly Member Kevin Shelley (D - San Francisco), is shown as having $1.1 million cash on hand, while his closest rival, former state Assembly Member Keith Olberg (R - Victorville) has $608,137. (March Fong Eu--who held the job from 1974 - 94, when she left to become U.S. Ambassador to Micronesia--is considered to be somewhat of a front-runner in the race. Her cash-on-hand is listed as $141,974.)
The race for Insurance Commissioner shows two candidates fairly close in terms of cash on hand: state Assembly Member Tom Calderon (D - Montebello) with $1,083,163, and former state Assembly Member Tom Umberg (D - Santa Ana) with $1,621,328. However, the report notes that $1.5 million of Umberg’s total comes from loans. Former state Senator--and the first Insurance Commissioner--John Garamendi, is shown as having only $126,064 on hand.
In the race for Superintendent of Public Instruction, the cash on hand reported for the two candidates running, state Assembly Member Lynne Leach (R - Walnut Creek) and state Senator Jack O’ Connell (D - Ventura) is a lopsided $176,621 for Leach, and $1.6 million for O’Connell.
6. Five initiatives have qualified so far for the March 5 Primary Election, with signatures still being counted for a sixth. The five relate to insurance fraud, transportation funding, citizens’ right to have their votes counted, and two bond acts, one to improve county voting systems ($200 million), and one for parks ($2.6 billion).
The sixth initiative yet to be certified, addresses term limit reform.
7. Below is a report on the Governor’s action on the remaining bills followed this past year. The second half of the current Biennial Legislative Session will convene on January 7, 2002. Legislative Update now moves to its “as needed” publishing schedule.
* STATUS OF PREVIOUSLY INTRODUCED LEGISLATION *
AB 43 (Wesson) Public Employment: Gender-based Study
This bill sought to direct the Commission on the Status of Women to conduct a study on gender-based compensation and classification inequities in the state civil service and higher educational institutions. [No previous reference]
Status: Approved by the Governor, October 12, and Chaptered by the Secretary of State on October 13. [Chapter 836, Statutes of 2001]
[Note: In signing this bill, the Governor acknowledged the importance of this study, “but given the loss of $1.1 billion in state revenues in the first 3 months of this fiscal year, I am directing that the study be conducted within existing resources.”]
AB 540 (Firebaugh) Public Higher Education: Residency Requirements
This bill would require that “an illegal alien who has attended high school in the state for 3 or more years, and has graduated from a California high school, or attained the equivalent thereof, be exempted from paying nonresident tuition at the California Community Colleges and the CSU.” The bill requests the University of California to provide the same exemption.
The author agreed to several amendments in order to secure passage and the Governor’s approval. Undocumented students will continue to be barred from receiving financial aid. In addition, the students will be required to submit an affidavit stating that they have filed or will file an application to the INS seeking legal residency status as soon as they can.
With respect to the CSU, it is anticipated that Assembly Member Firebaugh’s bill will affect about 500 students systemwide. [3/2/01, 5/25/01, 7/6/01, 7/20/01, 9/14/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: Approved by the Governor, October 12, and Chaptered by the Secretary of State on October 13. [Chapter 814, Statutes of 2001]
AB 895 (Wiggins) Enhanced Retirement Benefit for State University Police TRUSTEE BILL
This bill would implement a provision in the CSU’s collective bargaining agreement with the Statewide University Police Association that provides a 3% at age 50 retirement formula for specified members of the CSU police department, and would modify the maximum pension limitations for those members to 90% of final compensation. [8/14/01, 9/14/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: Approved by the Governor, October 12, and Chaptered by the Secretary of State on October 13. [Chapter 785, Statutes of 2001]
AB 978 (Steinberg) California Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 2001
This bill would establish the California Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 2001, a process for repatriation of Native American human remains and cultural items that are currently in the possession of state agencies, public universities, and museums. [No previous reference]
Status: Approved by the Governor, October 12, and Chaptered by the Secretary of State on October 13. [Chapter 818, Statutes of 2001]
[Note: CSUN is one of nine campuses that will be impacted by this bill, since the University maintains a Center for Public Archeology, directed by Professor Mark Raab, in the Department of Anthropology.
Staff from CSU’s Office of Governmental Affairs participated with other interested groups in several meetings with the author to discuss amendments to clarify the intent of the bill, and some of the terms used in it (e.g., definition of “cultural item” and of “nonfederally recognized tribes”), and to address conflicts with the federal law on Native American repatriation.
Additional concerns over costs in meeting the inventory requirements were also addressed. Subsequent amendments dealing with all of these issues resulted in the various groups--CSU included--removing their opposition to the bill.]
AB 1081 (Nation) CSU Part-Time Faculty Benefits
This bill, which is sponsored by the California Faculty Association (CFA), would allow temporary CSU faculty who work two consecutive semesters or three consecutive quarters at 40% of full time or more to be members of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), if so provided in a collective bargaining agreement.
[3/29/01, 6/8/01, 7/20/01, 9/14/01 Legislative Updates]
[Note: Existing law provides that these employees must work at least half-time to be eligible for membership in CalPERS. CFA believes the 40% threshold more accurately reflects “half-time” teaching responsibilities for CSU lecturers, when compared to full-time faculty. The 50% load criterion is based on a full-time load that includes non-classroom responsibilities such as campus committee and/or department responsibilities, responsibilities that lecturers generally do not participate in or are compensated for.
The CSU opposed this bill on the basis that it would signal to CSU bargaining organizations that the benefit it would provide is endorsed by the Legislature, and thus is an entitlement at the bargaining table.]
Status: Vetoed by the Governor, October 12. In his veto message, the Governor stated his concerns that if this bill were to be approved, “it may result in pressure to provide similar benefits to other members of CalPERS that work less than half time, resulting in potentially significant General Fund costs.”
AB 1452 (Cox) Vaccinations: Meningococcal Disease
This bill requires the state Department of Health Services to develop information about meningococcal disease, and requires public postsecondary institutions that provide on-campus housing to supply that information to each incoming freshman. The bill also requires students to return a form, indicating whether or not they choose to receive the vaccination, and requires the educational institutions to maintain the completed forms on file. [No previous reference]
Status: Approved by the Governor, September 28, and Chaptered by the Secretary of State on October 1. [Chapter 372, Statutes of 2001]
AB 1611 (Keeley) UC, CSU, CCC: Affordable Housing Program
This bill seeks to authorize “the California Educational Facilities Authority (CEFA) to enter into agreements with nonprofit entities to finance the cost of constructing student, faculty and staff housing near the campuses of the UC, the CSU, the California Community Colleges, or a participating private college.” [3/29/01, 5/11/01, 6/8/01, 8/24/01, 9/7/01, 9/14/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: Approved by the Governor, October 5, and Chaptered by the Secretary of State on October 7. [Chapter 569, Statutes of 2001]
SB 323 (O’Connell) CSU, Channel Islands - Real Property Exchange TRUSTEE BILL
This bill would authorize the CSU to acquire approximately 75 acres of privately owned farmland adjacent to the main campus at CSU, Channel Islands, in order to develop a primary access road and athletic fields, in exchange for a portion of a 262-acre site, located eight miles northwest of the main campus.
The bill additionally provides that (1) any funds received be encumbered by January 1, 2007; (2) any expenditure of funds, which were received by the CSU as a result of this bill, be consistent with the Channel Islands master plan; and (3) through the exchange of land authorized by this bill, the CSU shall acquire land sufficient to meet the goals of the Channel Islands master plan, but shall not acquire more than 75 acres.
An Urgency Clause was added to the bill before it was sent forward to the Assembly. [3/16/01, 4/27/01, 5/11/01, 5/25/01, 7/6/01, 9/14/01 Legislative Updates]
[Note: The larger 262-acre parcel, was acquired by the CSU in 1995 for the Channel Islands campus before the grounds of the Camarillo State Hospital, the current site, became available.]
Status: Approved by the Governor, September 29, and Chaptered by the Secretary of State on October 1. [Chapter 402, Statutes of 2001]
SB 327 (Scott) CSU: Biotechnology
This bill expresses legislative intent to provide additional state funding to the CSU for development of a bioscience center that would integrate research and innovation, applied workforce training, and incubation of new bioscience enterprise. Development of the center would involve a partnership among local educational institutions, the local bioscience industry, and government.
The bill specifies that the bioscience center be located in Pasadena.
The bill also specifies that, subject to appropriation in the annual Budget Act, the funds will be used “for the development of a pilot bioinnovation workforce training program that bridges the gap between classroom instruction and workforce practice, using state-of-the-art instrumentation and real-world development projects.” [3/2/01, 6/22/01, 9/14/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: Approved by the Governor, September 29, and Chaptered by the Secretary of State on October 1. [Chapter 403, Statutes of 2001]
SB 517 (Torklason) Bond Funds for Joint-Use Facilities
This bill would require the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) to consider the development of facilities to be used by more than one segment of public higher education, and to recommend to the legislature criteria and processes for the different segments to utilize bond funds for the joint-use facilities.
The bill was conjoined to AB 1721 on September 5, meaning the provisions of this bill would become operative only if AB 1721 is chaptered and becomes effective on January 1, 2002. AB 1721 requires CPEC periodically to conduct a study of the percentages of California public high school graduates estimated to be eligible for admission to the University of California and the California State University.
Both bills specify that their provisions will be implemented only during those fiscal years for which funding is provided in the annual Budget Act or in another measure. [3/2/01, 7/6/01, 9/7/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: Approved by the Governor, October 5, and Chaptered by the Secretary of State on October 7. [Chapter 580, Statutes of 2001]
(AB 1721 was approved and chaptered (#571) on the same dates as SB 517.)
SB 554 (Vasconcellos) Service Learning/Student Academic Partnership Program
This bill seeks to establish a Statewide Service Learning Center to coordinate and develop service learning centers on the campuses of individual public and private colleges and universities.
Specifically, the bill (1) would establish the Statewide Service Learning Center within the Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism, and would assign to that entity the responsibility for selecting and monitoring the center; (2) require CPEC to develop the master plan for service learning in conjunction with the 3 segments of public higher education; and (3) provide an appropriation $148,350, to be split between CPEC and the Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism. [3/2/01, 5/11/01, 6/8/01, 9/14/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: Vetoed by the Governor, October 14. In his veto message, the Governor stated that two years ago he had sent a written request to the UC, CSU, and the California Community Colleges, encouraging them to include public service as part of their curricula. All three systems complied, making this legislation unnecessary.
The Governor also noted the implementation costs involved and cited the “rapid decline of our economy and a budget shortfall of $1.1 billion through the first three months of this fiscal year alone,” as further reason to veto the bill.
SB 593 (Alarcon) CSUN: Land Exchange TRUSTEE BILL
This bill authorizes the CSU Board of Trustees to exchange a parcel of land known as “Zelzah Court” on the campus of California State University, Northridge, for the Prairie Street School site, adjacent to the campus, which is owned by the Los Angeles Unified School District. The bill contains an Urgency Clause, which means it would take effect upon the Governor’s signature, rather than on January 1, 2002. [3/2/01, 4/27/01, 5/11/01, 6/8/01, 7/6/01, 9/7/01, 9/14/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: Approved by the Governor, October 10, and Chaptered by the Secretary of State on October 11. [Chapter 726, Statutes of 2001]
SB 824 (Poochigian) DNA Training
This bill would make findings and declarations concerning the urgent need for forensic scientists with the rigorous scientific backgrounds and the practical laboratory experiences necessary to perform DNA analysis. The bill also provides that “the Department of Justice, the CSU, and the UC, shall work together to enhance collaborative opportunities for DNA training of university students, graduates, and existing employees of crime laboratories.”
In addition, the bill provides that, through its California Criminalistics Institute, the Department of Justice would develop and create an internship program for graduate-level students designed to prepare students to meet national standards for DNA analysis, as specified.
This bill also stipulates that its provisions may only be implemented to the extent that funds are provided for their purposes in the annual Budget Act. [5/25/01, 7/6/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: Approved by the Governor, October 3, and Chaptered by the Secretary of State on October 4. [Chapter 477, Statutes of 2001]
Note: In approving this bill, the Governor directed that existing funds be used to fund the internship program.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
September 28, 2001
CAPITOL NEWS
1. Legislature fails to act on education bond measure. The state Senate adjourned at 12:39 a.m., and the Assembly at 2:52 a.m., on Saturday, September 15, having come to a decision on many of the hundreds of bills before them--but leaving hundreds of others in limbo until next January.
Agreement on a bond measure remained elusive, unfortunately, as lawmakers could not reach consensus on which ballot to place the measure, March or November 2002, nor could they come together on a number of K - 12 issues that have dogged efforts for several weeks now. (Apportionment of state school construction funds has been a particular bone of contention, since urban schools believe they are disadvantaged by current standards for eligibility, which they contend favor rural and smaller district schools. Both Assembly Members Marco Firebaugh and Jackie Goldberg had introduced legislation seeking to favor Los Angeles Unified School District and the Los Angeles Community Colleges.)
Other issues--the amount of General Obligation bonds that should be sold to provide a revenue stream for school construction and renovation, and how the money should be divided between K - 12 and higher education, and how the money ought to be divided among the 3 higher education segments--added to the impasse.
The issue will be taken up again in January, but with different bills and/or different conferees.
2. Assemblyman Herb Wesson (D - Culver City), as rumor predicted, will be the next Speaker of the Assembly. Wesson, who was first elected to the lower house in 1998 and faces term limits in 2004, was current Speaker Bob Hertzberg’s first choice to succeed him. Forty-nine Assembly Members have pledged in writing to elect Wesson next January, when the Assembly reconvenes.
Because of his past alliance with labor, Wesson is expected to be less of a champion for business than Hertzberg, although he has pledged to be fair to both--and to work in a bipartisan manner with both Republicans and Democrats on issues.
Before his election to the Assembly, Wesson served as chief deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor, Yvonne Brathwaite Burke. In his first contest to represent the 47th Assembly District, Wesson had a tough opponent in former Assembly Member Kevin Murray’s chief of staff. However, in his race for a second term, he won by 83%.
3. Secretary of State Bill Jones announced last week that he is decertifying the stylus-punched vote cards used throughout the state in order to avoid any problems of the sort that occurred in Florida last year. Los Angeles County and 8 other counties were told to abandon the vote card systems no later than 2006. A bill to put a $200 million bond measure on the March ballot to help cover the cost of replacing the systems is currently sitting on the Governor’s Desk. (The individual counties would have to provide the remaining funds, receiving $3 for every dollar they put up.)
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder, Conny McCormack, told the Los Angeles Times that “Replacing our entire county election system will take years of hard work and approximately $100 million, but the time has come to provide voters with the modern technology they need to improve the voting experience.”
4. Governor appoints labor leader to the CSU Board of Trustees. In a press release issued this week, the Governor announced that he had appointed Ricardo F. Icaza to the CSU Board of Trustees. Icaza is president of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 770, and president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, a post he’s held for the past 14 years. He is also the vice president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union International.
The press release also indicates that he is a trustee of the Southern California UFCW Employers Pension Fund, in which position he was instrumental in helping to increase access to scholarships by negotiating an agreement with several food markets to contribute into a college scholarship fund. The press release notes that to date, more than $6 million has been raised to send children of union members to college.
Icaza, 67, lives in Manhattan Beach, and has a BA from UCLA. No party affiliation was specified in the press release.
His appointment is subject to confirmation by the state Senate. CSU Trustees do not receive compensation for their service on the Board.
5. Governor Davis also announced the appointment of Judge Carlos Moreno to the California Supreme Court, filling the seat occupied by Justice Stanley Mosk, who died suddenly last June. Moreno has extensive experience in the court system, having served as a prosecutor and Special Counsel to the City Attorney in Los Angeles, before being appointed by former Governor George Deukmejian to the Compton Municipal Court. Former Governor Pete Wilson subsequently appointed him to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, and former President Bill Clinton elevated him to the United States District Court, Central District of California.
Moreno, 52, resides in Los Angeles. The first member of his family to go to college, he earned a BA from Yale University and a juris doctorate degree from Stanford University. Colleagues quoted in the Sacramento-based legal newspaper, The Daily Recorder, describe Moreno as “a judge’s judge,” “one of the most respected jurists on the bench,” “a judge who’s respected by all parties and groups, Republicans and Democrats alike,” “a very bright guy,” and “a superb lawyer,” who is cautious and thoughtful in his decisions, which he writes with uncommon clarity and reasoning.
Moreno is also described as a moderate who will tilt the high Court a bit to the right, since Mosk was the last remaining liberal. He will be the only Democrat serving on the 7-member court, and its second Latino. (The first was Associate Justice Cruz Reynoso, who was recalled by voters in 1987, along with Chief Justice Rose Bird and Associate Justice Joseph R. Grodin).
Moreno’s appointment is subject to confirmation by the Commission on Judicial Appointments; he will receive a salary of $162,409.
6. The Bush Administration has appointed Sally Stroup as the new Assistant Secretary of Postsecondary Education in the U.S. Department of Education. Stroup served as chief higher education counsel to Bill Goodling, former Chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. (Goodling, R - PA, retired in 2000, after 26 years in Congress.) Prior to her service with Rep. Goodling, she was General Counsel for the Pennsylvania Higher Education Agency. She has a BA from Indiana University (in Pennsylvania), and a juris doctorate from Loyola University of Law in New Orleans.
7. Reversing a population trend. Patt Morrison reported in her Times’ “Inside Politics” column last week that census figures reveal the country’s male population is growing faster than its female population. In cities with more than 100,000 people, Salinas reported the biggest gap: 113.7 men to every 100 women.
8. Deadline approaching. Bills that were passed by the Legislature on or before September 14, and in the Governor’s possession after that date, must be signed or vetoed by him by October 14.
The Legislature will reconvene on January 7, 2002, and begin the second half of the current two-year session.
* STATUS OF PREVIOUSLY INTRODUCED LEGISLATION *
ACR 73 (Strom-Martin) California State University: Faculty Hiring Practices
This Assembly Concurrent Resolution, sponsored by the California Faculty Association, urges the CSU Board of Trustees to study its faculty hiring practices over the past decade in order to make improvements in those practices. It urges the Trustees, along with the Academic Senate of the CSU and the California Faculty Association, to jointly develop a plan to raise the percentage of tenured or tenure-track faculty to at least 75%, and would urge the CSU to provide a report to the Legislature by May 1, 2002.
A July 16 amendment added 24 co-authors (to the existing 26) on the bill. [5/25/01, 6/22/01, 7/6/01, 8/24/01, 9/14/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: Chaptered by the Secretary of State, September 24. [Resolution 121 -2001]
SB 311 (Chesbro) Tuition Waivers
Two years ago, Senator Chesbro introduced a bill to waive CSU and UC tuition and fees for surviving children of firefighters and law enforcement personnel employed as a contractor, or as an employee of a contractor, performing services for a public agency. That bill was approved by both the Legislature and Governor, with the proviso that the waiver would apply until January 1, 2002.
SB 311 would extend the waiver indefinitely. [3/2/0, 9/7/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: Approved by the Governor and chaptered on September 25. [Chapter 347, Statutes of 2001]
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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
September 14, 2001
CAPITOL NEWS
1. The Day that Changed America. Like many others, I have been receiving e-mails from friends all over the country, commenting and sharing reactions on the recent terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. A colleague shared a letter passed on to him by a student, who had heard from friends in Denmark. I’m printing it in its entirety for readers of Legislative Update for the extraordinary empathy it conveys.
“Dear American friends,
We are in shock here in Denmark, over what happened in USA today.
At 10 a.m. (your time) (4 p.m. my time) I heard the News on the radio. Since then the television has covered your situation continuously. This is devastating and so hard to believe... Our hearts, thoughts and prayers goes out to all of you today. Especially - of course - the victims, their families and friends.
People here are in shock and feeling so very powerless against this terrible and meaningless terror action. I am sure this feeling must be even stronger for you - the American people although it is very very strong here as well. It's as if we - the Danish people - have somehow become American today... Our sorrow and sympathy for everyone in America is huge.
I hope it will comfort you to know; that outside the American Embassy here in Denmark, hundreds and hundreds of people stop by - silent – bringing flowers and lit candles, to show their sympathy. Outside our main city hall (in Copenhagen) thousands of people are gathered, holding lit candles and singing silent songs, again, to show their sympathy for you all. Out in the boonies - where we live - all we can do is light candles and place them in our windows, to show our sympathy. (An old tradition here).
Believe me when I tell you; there are lots of candles lit for you tonight.
With all my sympathy and respect--”
2. Congress passes Resolution. The House of Representatives passed HR 225 yesterday, “Expressing the sense of the Congress that, as a symbol of solidarity following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, every United States citizen is encouraged to display the flag of the United States for the next 30 days.”
3. Agreement near on plan for Education Bond Measure. Last week, delegations of students and alumni from higher education institutions in California walked the halls of the Capitol building, meeting with legislators about an education facilities bond measure that was under consideration. The message was clear: That the measure include all of public education, and that the amount specified for the University of California, the California State University, and the Community Colleges systems be divided equally among them. The delegations argued for $4.8 billion for higher education, spread over four-years, if the $10 billion amount being discussed for the measure was retained.
Early this week, there appeared to be no consensus on the measure. Most legislators were leaning toward placing the measure on the November ballot, but for an amount in the $8 to $9 billion range, to be spread over two years.
Last night, legislators appeared to coalesce over a plan that may be approved today. The impetus for the sudden action was a signal from the Governor that he would support a sizeable bond measure for education. Details are sketchy, but the proposed plan calls for two measures, one for $12 billion on the March 2002 ballot, and another for $10 billion on the November 2002 ballot. The measures cover K - University, but the specific amounts for K - 12 and for the 3 segments of higher education are not known, as of this writing.
If the Legislature does reach agreement on the plan, which is now anticipated, the bill would reach the Governor’s Desk by Monday, September 17.
* NEW LEGISLATION OF INTEREST *
Note: Bills must be in print for 30 days before they can be heard by a committee.
ACR 15 (Campbell, J.) Certified Public Accountants Week
This Assembly Concurrent Resolution proclaims November 4 - 10 as Certified Public Accountant Week, acknowledging the role CPAs play in the state’s economy and celebrating the 100th anniversary of the certified public accountant profession in California.
Introduced: September 6, 2001
* STATUS OF PREVIOUSLY INTRODUCED LEGISLATION *
AB 192 (Canciamilla) State Bodies: Open Meeting Law
This bill proposes several changes in the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, pertaining to teleconferencing. [Note: The CSU Board of Trustees and the CSUN Advisory Board are governed by this Act. The Act does not pertain to meetings of internal University committees, boards, task forces, departments, or administrative units.]
This bill provides that if a state body elects to conduct a meeting by teleconference, agendas must be posted at all teleconference locations, which must all be accessible to the public. The agenda, which must contain a brief description of the items of business to be transacted in open and closed session, must also include an opportunity for public comment and testimony.
The bill also provides that notice shall be made available on the Internet as soon as is practicable after any decision to consider additional items at a meeting has been made. [2/16/01, 6/22/01, 8/24/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: APPROVED by the Governor, Sept. 5. [Chapter 243, Statutes of 2001]
AB 195 (Alquist) Student Fees
This bill would place in state statute policies regarding undergraduate student fees at public higher education institutions. The bill is sponsored by the California Postsecondary Education Commission, and is designed to reaffirm California’s commitment to maintaining affordable access to higher education by providing reasonable limits on the fees that students and their families can expect to pay.
As originally introduced, the bill sought to tie fee increses to the percentage change in the California per capita personal income. As currently written, the bill now specifies that increases in student fees “should be moderate and predictable so that students and their families can prepare for the costs of college attendance.”
As amended in the Senate Appropriations Committee on July 18, the bill provides that its operation in any fiscal year is subject to being suspended in the annual Budget Act. [2/16/01, 5/11/01, 6/8/01, 7/20/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: HELD in the Senate Appropriations Committee. AB 195 automatically becomes a two-year bill, and won’t be taken up again until next January.
AB 521 (Koretz) Student Credit Cards - “Student Financial Responsibility Act”
This bill defines student credit cards, and requests the UC, CSU, the California Community Colleges, and the private and independent colleges and universities in the state to adopt policies to regulate the marketing practices used on campuses by credit card companies.
Specifically, the bill would require credit card vendors to register with campus administration before coming onto a campus and would limit the number of sites where they could set up tables. The bill would also ban credit card vendors from soliciting students on campus with free gifts, and, finally, it would require campuses to make credit card and debt education and counseling sessions a regular part of campus orientation for new students. [3/2/01, 4/27/01, 6/8/01, 7/6/01, 7/20/01, 9/7/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: Approved by the Governor, Sept. 12, and Chaptered on the same date. [Chapter 294, Statutes of 2001]
AB 540 (Firebaugh) Public Higher Education: Residency Requirements
This bill would require that “an illegal alien who has attended high school in the state for 3 or more years, and has graduated from a California high school, or attained the equivalent thereof, be exempted from paying nonresident tuition at the California Community Colleges and the CSU.” The bill requests the University of California to provide the same exemption. [Note: Both the CCC and the CSU have adopted a “support” position on AB 540; the UC has not adopted a formal position to date.]
In addition, the bill would make these students eligible to apply for financial aid. [3/2/01, 5/25/01, 7/6/01, 7/20/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: PASSED [27 - 7] by the Senate on Sept. 12. The Assembly concurred in the amendments, and the bill was enrolled on Sept. 13. The bill will be on the Governor’s Desk by Monday, Sept. 17--and he is expected to sign it.
AB 895 (Wiggins) Enhanced Retirement Benefit for State University Police TRUSTEE BILL
This bill would implement a provision in the CSU’s collective bargaining agreement with the Statewide University Police Association that provides a 3% at age 50 retirement formula for specified members of the CSU police department, and would modify the maximum pension limitations for those members to 90% of final compensation. [8/14/01 Legislative Update]
Status: PASSED [80 - 0] by the Assembly on Sept. 10; PASSED [5 – 0] by the Senate Committee on Public Employment and Retirement, and sent forward to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Sept. 13. This bill is on a fast track. It is expected to be passed by both the Appropriations Committee and the full Senate today. The bill should be ready for enrollment early next week, and on the Governor’s Desk shortly thereafter.
AB 1081 (Nation) CSU Part-Time Faculty Benefits
This bill, which is sponsored by the California Faculty Association (CFA), would allow temporary CSU faculty who work two consecutive semesters or three consecutive quarters at 40% of full time or more to be members of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), if so provided in a collective bargaining agreement. [3/29/01, 6/8/01, 7/20/01 Legislative Updates]
[Note: Existing law provides that these employees must work at least half-time to be eligible for membership in CalPERS. CFA believes the 40% threshold more accurately reflects “half-time” teaching responsibilities for CSU lecturers, when compared to full-time faculty. The 50% load criterion is based on a full-time load that includes non-classroom responsibilities such as campus committee and/or department responsibilities, responsibilities that lecturers generally do not participate in or are compensated for.
The CSU opposes this bill because it signals to CSU bargaining organizations that the benefit it would provide is endorsed by the Legislature, and thus is an entitlement at the bargaining table.]
Status: PASSED [8 - 3] by the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sept. 12, and PASSED [24 - 13] by the Senate, Sept. 13. The bill was enrolled on the same date, and will be on the Governor’s Desk by Sept. 17.
AB 1611 (Keeley) UC, CSU, CCC: Affordable Housing Program
This bill seeks to authorize “the California Educational Facilities Authority (CEFA) to enter into agreements with nonprofit entities to finance the cost of constructing student, faculty and staff housing near the campuses of the UC, the CSU, the California Community Colleges, or a participating private college.” [3/29/01, 5/11/01, 6/8/01, 8/24/01, 9/7/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: PASSED [24 - 1] by the Senate, Sept. 12. The Assembly concurred in the Senate amendments, and the bill was enrolled on the same date. The bill will be on the Governor’s Desk early next week [Sept. 17].
ACR 73 (Strom-Martin) California State University: Faculty Hiring Practices
This Assembly Concurrent Resolution, sponsored by the California Faculty Association, urges the CSU Board of Trustees to study its faculty hiring practices over the past decade in order to make improvements in those practices. It urges the Trustees, along with the Academic Senate of the CSU and the California Faculty Association, to jointly develop a plan to raise the percentage of tenured or tenure-track faculty to at least 75%, and would urge the CSU to provide a report to the Legislature by May 1, 2002.
A July 16 amendment added 24 co-authors (to the existing 26) on the bill. [5/25/01, 6/22/01, 7/6/01, 8/24/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: PASSED (24 – 13] by the Senate, Sept. 10. The Assembly concurred in the amendments and the bill was enrolled on Sept. 12.
SB 323 (O’Connell) CSU, Channel Islands - Real Property Exchange TRUSTEE BILL
This bill would authorize the CSU to acquire approximately 75 acres of privately owned farmland adjacent to the main campus at CSU, Channel Islands, in order to develop a primary access road and athletic fields, in exchange for a portion of a 262-acre site, located eight miles northwest of the main campus. The bill additionally provides that (1) any funds received be encumbered by January 1, 2007; (2) any expenditure of funds, which were received by the CSU as a result of this bill, be consistent with the Channel Islands master plan; and (3) through the exchange of land authorized by this bill, the CSU shall acquire land sufficient to meet the goals of the Channel Islands master plan, but shall not acquire more than 75 acres.
An Urgency Clause was added to the bill before it was sent forward to the Assembly. [3/16/01, 4/27/01, 5/11/01, 5/25/01, 7/6/01 Legislative Updates]
[Note: The larger 262-acre parcel, was acquired by the CSU in 1995 for the Channel Island campus before the grounds of the Camarillo State Hospital, the current site, became available.]
Status: PASSED [80 - 0] by the Assembly on Sept. 12. The Senate concurred in the amendments, and the bill was enrolled on Sept. 13. The bill will likely be on the Governor’s Desk by Monday, Sept. 17.
SB 327 (Scott) CSU: Biotechnology
This bill expresses legislative intent to provide additional state funding to the CSU for development of a bioscience center that would integrate research and innovation, applied workforce training, and incubation of new bioscience enterprise. Development of the center would involve a partnership among local educational institutions, the local bioscience industry, and government.
The bill specifies that the bioscience center be located in Pasadena.
The bill also specifies that, subject to appropriation in the annual Budget Act, the funds will be used “for the development of a pilot bioinnovation workforce training program that bridges the gap between classroom instruction and workforce practice, using state-of-the-art instrumentation and real-world development projects.” [3/2/01, 6/22/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: The Senate concurred in the Assembly amendments on Sept. 12, and the bill was enrolled on the same date. The bill should be on the Governor’s Desk by Sept. 17.
SB 554 (Vasconcellos) Service Learning/Student Academic Partnership Program
This bill seeks to establish a Statewide Service Learning Center to coordinate and develop service learning centers on the campuses of individual public and private colleges and universities.
As initially written, the bill (1) required the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) to be responsible for selecting and monitoring an entity to administer the center, and to develop a master plan for service learning; and (2) included an appropriation of $250,000 from the state General Fund for CPEC to accomplish these purposes.
As amended on September 5, the bill (1) would establish the Statewide Service Learning Center within the Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism, and would assign to that entity the responsibility for selecting and monitoring the center; (2) require CPEC to develop the master plan for service learning in conjunction with the 3 segments of public higher education; and (3) reduce the appropriation to $148,350, to be split between CPEC and the Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism. [3/2/01, 5/11/01, 6/8/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: PASSED [54 - 26] by the Assembly on Sept. 10. The Senate concurred in the Assembly amendments, and the bill was enrolled on Sept. 13. The bill will be on the Governor’s Desk early next week [Sept. 17].
SB 593 (Alarcon) CSUN: Land Exchange TRUSTEE BILL
This bill authorizes the CSU Board of Trustees to exchange a parcel of land known as “Zelzah Court” on the campus of California State University, Northridge, for the Prairie Street School site, adjacent to the campus, which is owned by the Los Angeles Unified School District. The bill contains an Urgency Clause, which means it would take effect upon the Governor’s signature, rather than on January 1, 2002. [3/2/01, 4/27/01, 5/11/01, 6/8/01, 7/6/01, 9/7/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: PASSED unanimously by the Assembly, Sept. 10. The Senate concurred in the amendments, and the bill was enrolled on Sept. 13. It should be on the Governor’s Desk by Monday, Sept. 17.
Return to Archive List
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
September 7, 2001
CAPITOL NEWS
1. Georgia decision on Affirmative Action sets stage for Supreme Court review. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled unanimously this week that an admissions policy at the University of Georgia, which gave a slight preference in bonus points to nonwhite applicants, was unconstitutional.
The admissions policy, which the University said applied to about 10% of the entering freshman students, added bonus points to nonwhite applicants who were admitted on a basis other than grades and test scores. The University defended its policy on the grounds that it would lead to a more diverse student body. However, the court rejected
the University’s argument, stating that, “Racial diversity alone is not necessarily the hallmark of a diverse student body, and race is not necessarily the only, or best, criterion for determining the contribution that an applicant might make to the broad mix of experiences and perspectives” that create diversity.
In the New York Times account of the court’s decision, the paper noted that the policy hadn’t been too successful in attracting Black students to the University’s main campus in Athens, since they comprised just 6% of the student body in a state that is about one-third Black.
The Georgia case adds to the list of conflicting opinions on the issue of affirmative action, and increases the likelihood of the U.S. Supreme Court jumping back into the fray. The High Court’s last ruling on affirmative action occurred in 1978, when it handed down the landmark decision in the University of California Regents v. Bakke. In that case, the court determined that diversity could be a legitimate goal of a university’s admission policy.
2. More locally, the California Third District Court of Appeal ruled this week that a 1978 statute requiring the state’s community colleges to meet certain goals and timetables for hiring women and minorities was unconstitutional. The court cited the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause and Prop. 209 as the basis for its decision. Prop. 209 is the initiative voters approved in 1996, which prohibits state and local government affirmative action programs in the areas of public employment, public education and public contracting.
The Community Colleges argued unpersuasively that the system was in compliance with Prop. 209 because it had advised its 108 campuses not to use hiring preferences or goals “unless justified by compelling evidence” of past shortcomings in hiring women and minorities. The system had also pointed to the enhanced learning environment created when students are exposed to racial and gender diversity in the colleges’ faculty and staff, and the importance of having minority and women role models.
In the account of the decision from this week’s Chronicle of Higher Education, the court’s response to these arguments was, “Lessons concerning democratic principles must include the fundamental principle of law, embodied in our state and federal Constitutions, that individuals should not be classified for different treatment based on their race or gender.”
Thomas Nussbaum, Chancellor of the Community College system, told the Chronicle that the decision would be appealed.
3. Statewide effort launched to win legislative approval of an education bond measure. Teams of students and alumni from universities and colleges statewide descended upon the State Capitol this week to persuade legislators of the critical need to place a single education facilities bond before voters. The bond measure, which would be placed on either the March or November 2002 ballot, would provide funding for K – University for additional classrooms, renovation and repair of existing facilities, and seismic upgrades.
CSUN teamed with UCLA and met with legislators and aides representing 9 different districts in our area. Members of the CSUN contingent included alums Wayne Adelstein, Alma Zatarain, and Hilda Garcia, and three students, Nicole Blackman, Jessica Rodriguez, and Christopher Silvers. All represented CSUN and the issue exceedingly well. My thanks and deep appreciation to each of them.
4. The preliminary redistricting plans for the state Assembly and Senate and for the House of Representatives were released late last week. If the plans are approved as drawn, CSUN will retain the same number of legislators in its service area, but will reside in three new districts:
|
Currently: |
Proposed: |
|
Assembly 38th District (R - Keith Richman) |
40th District (D - Bob Hertzberg, who is termed out in 2002) |
|
Senate 19th District (R - Tom McClintock) |
20th District (D - Richard Alarcon) |
|
Cong. 25th District (R - Buck McKeon) |
24th District (D - Brad Sherman) |
The plans have generated a lot of dissent, particularly from minority communities, who believe the new districts dilute their opportunity for electing representatives. Business and civic leaders from the San Fernando Valley are also upset because fragmenting the area into as many as five tiny pieces is detrimental to effective representation. The Valley Industry and Commerce Association (VICA) is preparing written testimony arguing for districts that are compact and contiguous, and which keep together neighborhoods and communities of interest.
Hearings on the controversial plans were held on September 4 - 5 in Sacramento. I happened to be in the state Capitol building on the second day, and saw large numbers of people milling about the hallway outside the hearing room--all angry and impatient to enter and convey their views.
California’s Constitution requires approval by both the Legislature and the Governor. The Legislature must approve with a 2/3 vote by September 14, the final day of Session, and the Governor by October 14.
5. Governor signs legislation creating California Poet Laureate. Governor Davis signed Assembly Member Fran Pavley’s bill, AB 113, this week, adding California to the list of two dozen other states (and the federal government) who maintain such a post. Details on the nominating process and on the qualifications for the position were included in the August 24 issue of Legislative Update (which is also available on line on the Governmental Affairs website: www.csun.edu/~govrel).
*
NEW LEGISLATION OF INTEREST *
Note: Bills must be in print for 30 days before they can be heard by a committtee.
ACR 104 (Strom-Martin) Retired Teachers Week
This Assembly Concurrent Resolution declares October 14 to October 20, 2001, as California Retired Teachers Week, to acknowledge the volunteer time retired teachers give to tutoring, caring for the children of teenage parents so that the teens may complete their schooling, to participation in Gateway reading and HeadStart programs, and many other activities, the dollar value of which the resolution states exceeded $24 million during 2001.
Introduced: August 27, 2001
ACR 105 (Strom-Martin) Women’s Suffrage
This Assembly Concurrent Resolution proclaims October 10, 2001, as the 90th Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage in California.
Introduced: August 27, 2001
* STATUS OF PREVIOUSLY INTRODUCED LEGISLATION *
AB 521 (Koretz) Student Credit Cards - “Student Financial Responsibility Act”
This bill defines student credit cards, and requests the UC, CSU, the California Community Colleges, and the private and independent colleges and universities in the state to adopt policies to regulate the marketing practices used on campuses by credit card companies.
Specifically, the bill would require credit card vendors to register with campus administration before coming onto a campus and would limit the number of sites where they could set up tables. The bill would also ban credit card vendors from soliciting students on campus with free gifts, and, finally, it would require campuses to make credit card and debt education and counseling sessions a regular part of campus orientation for new students. [3/2/01, 4/27/01, 6/8/01, 7/6/01, 7/20/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: PASSED [22-10] by the Senate on August 27. The Assembly concurred in the Senate amendments on August 30, and the bill was sent forward to the Governor on August 31.
AB 1611 (Keeley) UC, CSU, CCC: Affordable Housing Program
This bill seeks to authorize “the California Educational Facilities Authority (CEFA) to enter into agreements with nonprofit entities to finance the cost of constructing student, faculty and staff housing near the campuses of the UC, the CSU, the California Community Colleges, or a participating private college.” [3/29/01, 5/11/01, 6/8/01, 8/24/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: PASSED [7 - 3] by the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 30. The bill will be heard next by the full Senate.
AB 1719 (Committee on Education) CSU: Omnibus Proposals TRUSTEE BILL
This omnibus bill contains several provisions pertaining to the CSU, all relatively minor, technical items not significant enough for each to merit a separate bill.
Included in the legislation are such matters as:
(1) Clarification of the CSU’s procurement and contracting authority by providing a central location for procurement policies applicable only to the CSU (identical to what exists in the statutes for the UC system).
Current law allows the Trustees to approve minor capital outlay projects without legislative approval, if the project doesn’t exceed $250,000. When the Department of Finance raises the limit that applies to other state agency projects, which are governed by another statute, the CSU has to go to the state Legislature to seek a similar increase.
AB 1719 has been amended to delete the limit altogether, and provide instead that whenever the DOF raises the limit for the other state agency projects, the CSU’s limit will automatically rise by the same amount.
(2) An amendment to the CSU Contract Law in the Public Contract Code to reflect the recent change in statute for the minor capital outlay limit (now $400,000); and
(3) Repeal of an outdated reference to the “State Nautical School,” now the California Maritime Academy.
Finally, the bill extends the protections of the name “California State University” to include any abbreviations of the name, or any name of which these words are a part. The bill declares the name to be the property of the state and specifies that permission of the Trustees is required before any of these names may be used for any commercial purpose. Violation of this statute would constitute a misdemeanor. [3/16/01, 4/27/01, 5/25/01, 8/24/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: APPROVED by the Governor on August 30, and Chaptered by the Secretary of State on August 31. [Chapter 219, Statutes of 2001]
SB 311 (Chesbro) Tuition Waivers
Two years ago, Senator Chesbro introduced a bill to waive CSU and UC tuition and fees for surviving children of firefighters and law enforcement personnel employed as a contractor, or as an employee of a contractor, performing services for a public agency. That bill was approved by both the Legislature and Governor, with the proviso that the waiver would apply until January 1, 2002.
SB 311 would extend the waiver indefinitely. [3/2/01 Legislative Update]
[Note: The impetus for the initial legislation was rooted in a situation that developed at Humboldt State University. Calder Johnson, an entering freshman, enrolled with the understanding that his tuition and fees would be waived, since he was the son of a man who was killed while fighting wildfires in Humboldt County in 1987. However, because the elder Johnson was a civilian pilot working under contract for the Department of Forestry, and was not a public employee, his son was ineligible for the fee waiver.
Without the waiver, the son could not afford to pursue his college education and his ultimate goal of becoming a doctor. The press got wind of the story, and it was featured in every major newspaper in the state. In the resulting outcry, a local family in Humboldt stepped forward and provided the son with money from its family trust to support his education while he was enrolled at Humboldt State.
Senator Chesbro, whose district includes the university, introduced a bill to extend the spirit of the law to the letter of the law, so that Calder Johnson would qualify for the fee waiver. SB 311, by extending the fee waiver indefinitely, would apply to other students in similar situations.]
Status: PASSED on Consent by the Assembly Appropriations Committee, August 29, and PASSED unanimously by the Assembly, September 5. Upon concurrence in the amendments by the Senate, the bill will go forward to the Governor.
SB 517 (Torklason) Bond Funds for Joint-Use Facilities
This bill would require the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) to consider the development of facilities to be used by more than one segment of public higher education, and to recommend to the legislature criteria and processes for the different segments to utilize bond funds for the joint-use facilities.
The bill was conjoined to AB 1721 on September 5, meaning the provisions of this bill would become operative only if AB 1721 is chaptered and becomes effective on January 1, 2002. AB 1721 requires CPEC periodically to conduct a study of the percentages of California public high school graduates estimated to be eligible for admission to the University of California and the California State University.
As also amended on September 5, the provisions of both bills are to be implemented only during those fiscal years for which funding is provided in the annual Budget Act or in another measure. [3/2/01, 7/6/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: PASSED [11 - 0] by the Assembly Appropriations Committee, June 27. The bill has been placed on the Assembly Consent Calendar, and will go forward to the Governor.
SB 593 (Alarcon) CSUN: Land Exchange TRUSTEE BILL
This bill authorizes the CSU Board of Trustees to exchange a parcel of land known as “Zelzah Court” on the campus of California State University, Northridge, for the Prairie Street School site, adjacent to the campus, which is owned by the Los Angeles Unified School District. The bill contains an Urgency Clause, which means it would take effect upon the Governor’s signature, rather than on January 1, 2002. [3/2/01, 4/27/01, 5/11/01, 6/8/01, 7/6/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: PASSED unanimously by the Assembly Appropriations Committee. The bill is expected to be passed by the full Assembly early next week, and, upon concurrence in the amendments by the Senate, should be on the Governor’s Desk midweek.
Return to Archive List
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
August 24, 2001
CAPITOL NEWS
1. The State Legislature reconvened this week following a month-long Summer Recess. Returning legislators face a mountain of unfinished business with a scant 4 weeks in which to pass dormant bills and address issues that were set aside during the energy crisis. (Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg was quoted in the Los Angeles Times this week as declaring he would not be seeing his family again until September 15.)
One critical issue for education is consideration of a facilities bond measure for placement on the March 2002 ballot. [See item 2 below.]
The Legislature is also expected to address the significant cuts the Governor made to the budget of the California Community Colleges.
Bills dealing with transportation, affordable housing, and health care are also waiting for attention. At the top of the unfinished business list is the most important issue of all (to state legislators, since their future and that of their party is dependent on it): Reapportionment.
2. Education Facilities Bond Act likely to be one of possibly three-to-four bond measures placed on the March 2002 ballot. The other bond measures being discussed address affordable housing needs, juvenile justice facilities, and water, respectively. (The much talked about energy bonds are Revenue bonds that are repaid by user fees, and not placed before voters for their approval.)
Of the three measures initially proposed to fund construction and repairs of school facilities, two survive:
AB 16 (Hertzberg, D - Van Nuys), seeks to provide $10 billion through the sale of General Obligation bonds, with unspecified amounts for K - 12 and higher education. Speaker Hertzberg’s bill would require the 3 higher education segments to submit a 5-year capital outlay plans before being eligible for any of the bond money. His bill also “encourages undertaking the sale of bonds in a manner not to exceed debt service to the General Fund revenue ratio of 6% unless the sale is in the best interest of the state.”
SB 844 (Chesbro, D - Humboldt) also seeks to provide $10 billion through the sale of GO bonds, with unspecified amounts for K - University. However, Senator Chesbro’s bill would require the portion of funds earmarked for higher education to be expended over a period of four years. More importantly, his bill specifies that the money going to higher education would be divided evenly between the three segments (UC, CSU, and the Community College system). SB 844 also includes an unspecified amount of money for joint facilities, undertaken by two or more of the higher education segments. The bill does not include the requirement for submitting 5-year capital outlay plans, nor does it make reference to the 6% ceiling on the debt service ratio.
These bills have been conjoined, which ensures they will go to a conference committee for resolution of their differences, so that one version can be sent to the Governor. Time is of the essence: The Legislature must act before September 14, the last day of the current Legislative Session, to ensure placement of the bond measure on the March 2002 ballot.
3. Senate Bill authorizing CSU Doctorate in Education turned into two-year bill. SB 713, authored by Senator Dede Alpert, will be amended to carry the CSU proposal and heard next January. CSU’s Office of Governmental Affairs reports that it has obtained agreement from 35 legislators to co-author the bill.
4. The House Committee on VA-HUD Appropriations supports California’s opposition to the proposed self-insurance requirement. The requirement,which would mandate state, local and private nonprofit entities to self- insure against natural disasters, was initially proposed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA], and was the object of rancorous debate during the last two years of the Clinton Administration.
The agency’s proposed rule was vigorously opposed by the Governor, the Mayor of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles City Council, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, public school associations, hospitals, the California Chamber of Commerce, the League of California Cities, and many individual cities and towns within California.
Lawmakers within the state and representatives from the various associations descended upon Washington to testify against the proposal, and truckloads of written testimony and letters were sent to Administration officials and members of Congress.
FEMA appeared to shelve its efforts, but never entirely abandoned the issue--as evidenced when the proposed rule found its way into President Bush’s 2001-02 Budget Proposal. The House Committee’s action, taken during the first week in August, was immediately championed by the state’s bipartisan Congressional Delegation.
The strongly worded statement, which was contained in the Committee’s Report on the Budget, declared in part:
“The Committee remains concerned that requiring insurance as a condition of receiving public assistance exceeds the direction provided to FEMA under the Stafford Act, discourages attempts to mitigate damage before it occurs, assumes an unproven premise regarding the insurance market’s treatment of disasters and the availability, affordability and adequacy of coverage for such insurance.”
The Committee also called the President’s proposal “ill-conceived” and reminded FEMA that “denying disaster assistance to underinsured or uninsured entities that suffer catastrophic losses as a result of a disaster could result in significant consequential losses of public services, medical care, and education.” The Committee also again criticized the agency for not conducting the previously requested thorough cost benefit analysis, and for not consulting extensively with affected entities, and directed the agency “not to initiate a rulemaking process until a comprehensive analysis has been conducted which concludes that insurance is available and affordable for all types of perils.”
5. Bill establishing a state law for an official poet laureate passes the state Legislature. AB 113, introduced by Assembly Member Fran Pavley, would have the Governor appoint the California Poet Laureate from a list of nominees prepared by the California Arts Council (which, in turn, would acquire the names from a panel of three literary experts, which may include professors, teachers, public and private arts organizations with significant literary components, professional poets, and literary critics). A last minute Senate amendment added a provision requiring Senate confirmation of the appointment.
Nominees must have resided in California for at least 10 years and be a prominent poet with a significant amount of published work. Lest anyone get comfortable in the position, the Poet Laureate will be subject to term limits: No more than two, 2-year terms.
The bill authorizes the Arts Council to pay a stipend to, and expenses for, the Poet Laureate (estimated to cost the General Fund $20,000 annually).
Finally, the bill specifies minimum duties for the Poet Laureate: (1) Make at least 6 public readings during each term, and (2) undertake one specific project that should last through the term, and which should endeavor to make the poetic arts more accessible to California and its students. The Arts Council is mandated by the bill, beginning in 2010, and every 10 years thereafter, to publish an anthology of works by the Poets Laureate of the previous decade.
Kevin Starr, the state’s Librarian, testified on behalf of the bill, pointing out that, “When Californians honor one poet laureate, they honor all poets as seers, those gifted with vision to see what others cannot. Having a poet laureate for California would serve to show the world that Californians acknowledge their literary wealth as well as their commercial and industrial wealth.”
California has had previous Poet Laureates, but they have been appointed by legislative resolution. The most recent one was Charles Garrigus, a former legislator, who served in the position from 1966 until his death in October 2000.
AB 113 passed its final hurdle this week, when the Assembly concurred in the Senate’s amendments. The fate of the bill now rests with the Governor.
6. Assembly Member Tony Cardenas (D - Van Nuys) has decided to drop his plans for running for Secretary of State. The lawmaker, who is termed out in 2002, has decided instead to run for the Los Angeles City Council seat [No. 2] being vacated by Councilman Joel Wachs. The Second District includes portions of Cardenas’ Assembly District: Van Nuys, including the Van Nuys Airport, and Sunland/Tujunga. However, according to political newsletter, CalPeek, Cardenas’ home is not in the Second District, so he will have to move to run.
CalPeek identifies two other “well-connected political heavyweights” whom Cardenas will be facing: “Dream Works exec Wendy Greuel, who worked in L.A. City Hall during the Bradley years and for HUD during the Clinton Administration; and Lyn Shaw, an executive administrator of a non-profit group headquartered in Sunland, who is a member and former vice chair of the L.A. County Democratic Central Committee.”
A Special Election to fill that seat has been set for December 11. If a run-off is required, that election will be held on March 5 (coinciding with the statewide election).
* NEW LEGISLATION OF INTEREST *
Note: Bills must be in print for 30 days before they can be heard by a committee.
AB 895 (Wiggins) Enhanced Retirement Benefit for State University Police
As amended on July 11, this bill seeks to implement a provision in the CSU’s collective bargaining agreement with the Statewide University Police Association that provides a 3% at age 50 retirement formula for specified members of the CSU police department, and would modify the maximum pension limitations for those members to 90% of final compensation.
As amended, AB 895 has been added to the CSU Legislative Program.
Status: PASSED [4 – 0] by the Assembly Public Employees, Retirement, and Social Security Committee on July 18, and forwarded on the same date to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, with a recommendation that it be placed on the committee’s Consent Calendar.
* STATUS OF PREVIOUSLY INTRODUCED LEGISLATION *
AB 192 (Canciamilla) State Bodies: Open Meeting Law
This bill proposes several changes in the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, pertaining to teleconferencing. [Note: The CSU Board of Trustees and the CSUN Advisory Board are governed by this Act. The Act does not pertain to meetings of internal University committees, boards, task forces, departments, or administrative units.]
This bill provides that if a state body elects to conduct a meeting by teleconference, agendas must be posted at all teleconference locations, which must all be accessible to the public. The agenda, which must contain a brief description of the items of business to be transacted in open and closed session, must also include an opportunity for public comment and testimony.
The bill also provides that notice shall be made available on the Internet as soon as is practicable after any decision to consider additional items at a meeting has been made. [2/16/01, 6/22/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: PASSED [39 – 0] by the Senate on July 21, and returned to the Assembly for concurrence in the amendments. The Assembly concurred on Aug. 20, and the bill was enrolled on the same date. It should be on the Governor’s Desk early next week.
AB 1611 (Keeley) UC, CSU, CCC: Affordable Housing Program
This bill seeks to authorize “the California Educational Facilities Authority (CEFA) to enter into agreements with nonprofit entities to finance the cost of constructing student and faculty housing near the campuses of the UC, the CSU, the California Community Colleges, and”--as amended on August 20: “a participating private college.”
A July 10 amendment added staff housing to the authorization. [3/29/01, 5/11/01, 6/8/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: PASSED [4 - 1] by the Senate Committee on Housing and Community Development on August 20, and referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee on the same date. [Note: The dissenting vote on the bill was cast by Senator Dick Ackerman (R - Irvine).]
AB 1689 (Committee on Jobs) CSU: Direct Payment to Vendors TRUSTEE BILL
In 1996, the Legislature approved AB 2613, which allowed all CSU campuses to pay vendors directly (rather than through the state Controller) until January 1, 2002. Audits of the Direct Vendor Pay Program by the state Controller’s Office and by the Bureau of State Audits indicate that the process has been successful in processing timely and efficient payments, with no peril to the system of checks and balances.
CSU is thus seeking permanent authority to pay its vendors directly. [3/16/01, 5/25/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: APPROVED by Governor Davis on August 8, and Chaptered by the Secretary of State on August 9. [Chapter 169, Statutes of 2001]
AB 1719 (Committee on Education) CSU: Omnibus Proposals TRUSTEE BILL
This omnibus bill contains several provisions pertaining to the CSU, all relatively minor, technical items not significant enough for each to merit a separate bill.
Included in the legislation are such matters as:
(1) Clarification of the CSU’s procurement and contracting authority by providing a central location for procurement policies applicable only to the CSU (identical to what exists in the statutes for the UC system).
Current law allows the Trustees to approve minor capitol outlay projects without legislative approval, if the project doesn’t exceed $250,000. When the Department of Finance raises the limit that applies to other state agency projects, which are governed by another statute, the CSU has to go to the state Legislature to seek a similar increase.
AB 1719 has been amended to delete the limit altogether, and provide instead that whenever the DOF raises the limit for the other state agency projects, the CSU’s limit will automatically rise by the same amount.
(2) An amendment to the CSU Contract Law in the Public Contract Code to reflect the recent change in statute for the minor capital outlay limit (now $400,000); and
(3) Repeal of an outdated reference to the “State Nautical School,” now the California Maritime Academy.
Finally, the bill extends the protections of the name “California State University” to include any abbreviations of the name, or any name of which these words are a part. The bill declares the name to be the property of the state and specifies that permission of the Trustees is required before any of these names may be used for any commercial purpose. Violation of this statute would constitute a misdemeanor. [3/16/01, 4/27/01, 5/25/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: PASSED [39-0] by the Senate on July 21, and returned to the Assembly for concurrence in the amendments. The Assembly concurred on Aug. 20 and the bill was enrolled on the same date. It should be on the Governor’s Desk early next week.
ACR 73 (Strom-Martin) California State University: Faculty Hiring Practices
This Assembly Concurrent Resolution, sponsored by the California Faculty Association, urges the CSU Board of Trustees to study its faculty hiring practices over the past decade in order to make improvements in those practices. It urges the Trustees, along with the Academic Senate of the CSU and the California Faculty Association, to jointly develop a plan to raise the percentage of tenured or tenure-track faculty to at least 75%, and would urge the CSU to provide a report to the Legislature by May 1, 2002.
A July 16 amendment added 24 co-authors (to the existing 26) on the bill). [5/25/01, 6/22/01, 7/6/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: PASSED [11 - 1] by the Senate Education Committee and referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 22. [Note: The sole dissenting vote was cast by Senator Dick Monteith (R – Modesto).]
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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
July 20, 2001
CAPITOL NEWS
1. Still no budget. Although the Assembly approved the Budget earlier this week, a sufficient number of Assembly Republicans has blocked passage of the trailer bills needed to implement the spending plan. Senate President Pro Tem John Burton has refused to take up the Budget in the Senate until the accompanying legislation has been approved by the lower house.
In the Assembly, the main sticking point on the Budget itself revolved around whether the ¼ cent reduction in the state sales tax, implemented by the Governor earlier this year, ought to be continued indefinitely. Democrats wanted to restore the tax to stave off further reductions in the $101 billion Budget, while Republicans wanted to make the reduction permanent. This issue was resolved when four Republicans voted for the Budget, accepting other tax relief measures that benefited agriculture, the state’s largest industry, in lieu of ending the ¼ cent sales tax reduction.
The tax issue was a critical one for education, K – University, since the cost to eliminate the ¼ cent tax reduction was in the neighborhood of a half-billion dollars. Public higher education, in particular, would have been vulnerable to reductions beyond the $70 million it experienced when the Governor issued his revised budget in May.
The principal issues holding up passage of the trailer bills in the Assembly are (1) the Governor’s plan to use $1.3 billion in money earmarked for transportation to balance the budget, and (2) a dispute over a bill that would extend health care to poor adults who can’t afford insurance, which Republicans contend expands funding for abortion.
Although negotiations are underway in both houses, it does not seem likely that a budget will be approved before the Legislature is set to begin its Summer Recess (midnight, July 20). Leadership in both houses appears to be committed to keeping legislators working through the weekend, so the Budget could be sent to the Governor by Monday (July 23). Long-time Capitol observers aren’t betting the farm on it, however.
When Governor Davis was elected, he pledged that the days of late budgets were gone--and he has prided himself in enacting a budget by the July 1 Constitutional deadline the first two years he’s been in office. The longest period of time the state has been without a budget in the past occurred in 1992-93, when the final budget was signed by former Governor Pete Wilson on August 29, 1992--74 days after the Constitutional deadline.
2. CSU and UC settle contract dispute with Enron Energy Services. Both the CSU and UC sued Enron when the power company attempted to end its contract a year before it was set to expire. The contract, which was executed in 1998 prior to the state’s current energy crisis, required Enron to act as a “direct access” provider--providing electricity for the two systems at a discounted price. When the cost of electricity suddenly mushroomed earlier this year, Enron shifted the CSU and UC over to Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison for their power, raising the specter, if not certainty, of significant increases in utility bills for both systems.
The CSU and UC together spend about $125 million a year for power, putting them among the state’s largest electricity consumers. Sharp increases in energy costs would have immediate impact on the systems’ respective budgets, posing potentially grave consequences for their instructional programs.
Enron, which is also battling a state Senate committee investigation into its business practices and charges of manipulating the market, maintained that the contract with the CSU and UC systems allowed it to shift the universities over to the utilities for their power. The University systems countered that the shift would expose them to the volatile electricity market, and that the change would also result in a much more complicated billing process, raising overhead costs.
The settlement allows the University systems to return to Enron as the “direct access” provider, but allows for negotiation on the price. The Houston-based energy giant will also absorb a portion of the costs the two university systems incurred in pressing the lawsuit.
3. Rep. Adam Schiff (R - Pasadena) has introduced legislation that will benefit California higher educational institutions. H.R. 2482--the “Access to Higher Education Act of 2001”--seeks to repeal the tuition-sensitivity trigger in the Pell Grant program and to expand qualifying expenses and income eligibility for the Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Learning Credits.
Currently, the size of a Pell Grant award is based on the cost of tuition. Because of the tuition-sensitivity trigger, students who attend low cost colleges cannot receive the maximum Pell Grant, despite the fact that the cost of attending a university, when books, room and board, and transportation are included, remains high. Since UC and CSU campuses have low tuition fees when compared to other institutions nationwide, California university students are particularly disadvantaged.
Similarly, since the Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Learning Credits may be used only for tuition and fees, only students who attend high cost universities are greatly benefited. Rep. Schiff’s bill seeks to include books, supplies, transportation, child care, and room and board in the costs for which these tax credits may be applied.
A copy of the bill is available in my office. Please reference my contact information in the masthead to request a copy. The two legislative aides in Rep. Schiff’s office who are primary sources of information on the legislation are Aviva Klein and Gail Ravnitski. Both are located in his Washington, D.C. office, at tel. #: (202) 225-4176.
4. Report issued by Cal Tech and MIT researchers proposes changes in voting technology and other reforms to safeguard votes in future elections. As reported in this week’s Chronicle of Higher Education, the researchers say that by replacing punch-card, lever and other similar electronic-voting systems with optical-scan or touch-screen systems, “lost” votes would virtually be a phenomenon of the past. The downside is the cost: 50% more than is currently being spent on elections. The report’s other recommendations:
Establish a national research-laboratory program, where tests on new voting equipment and ballot formats could be conducted before they are actually used in an election;
Institute better procedures for managing voter registration databases;
Allow greater use of “provisional” ballots for voters who encounter registration problems at polling sites.
Although the researchers supported greater use of computers at polling sites, they stopped short of recommending voting on the Internet, declaring it “far too risky because no one has yet figured out how to prevent hackers from committing voter fraud on a large scale.”
The researchers also cast a dim eye at absentee voting, which they contend has gotten out of hand. They recommend instead expanding early voting options at specified official sites.
The 92-page report, “Voting: What is, What Could Be,” is available on line at the following address: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/nr/2001/VTP_report_all.pdf
5. As indicated in the above item on the Budget, the Legislature was slated to be on Summer Recess, July 21 - August 20. With vacation plans made on that basis, Legislative Update, will be on hiatus during this period. A report on the final budget will thus be delayed until August 24, when Legislative Update resumes publication.
* NEW LEGISLATION OF INTEREST *
Note: Bills must be in print for 30 days before they can be heard by a committee.
ACR 94 (Pacheco, R.) Hearing Disabilities
This Assembly Concurrent Resolution urges that all televised legislative hearings and proceedings be provided with closed-captioning or live-captioning, in order to ensure that all citizens with hearing disabilities are given equal access to the political process.
Introduced: July 11, 2001
* STATUS OF PREVIOUSLY INTRODUCED LEGISLATION *
AB 195 (Alquist) Student Fees
This bill would place in state statute policies regarding undergraduate student fees at public higher education institutions. The bill is sponsored by the California Postsecondary Education Commission, and is designed to reaffirm California’s commitment to maintaining affordable access to higher education by providing reasonable limits on the fees that students and their families can expect to pay.
As originally introduced, the bill sought to tie fee increases to the percentage change in the California per capita personal income. As currently written, the bill now specifies that increases in student fees “should be moderate and predictable so that students and their families can prepare for the costs of college attendance.”
As amended on July 18 in the Senate Appropriations Committee, the bill would provide that its operation in any fiscal year is subject to being suspended in the annual Budget Act. [2/16/01, 5/11/01, 6/8/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: PASSED [10 - 1] by the Senate Education Committee, on July 11, and referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee on the same date. [Note: The sole dissenting vote was cast by Senator Pete Knight (R - Palmdale).]
AB 307 (Pavley) CSU Board of Trustees: Membership
This bill would add an additional member, a nonfaculty employee, to the membership of the CSU Board of Trustees. This member would be appointed by the Governor from a list of two individuals “furnished by an employee organization consisting of representatives of all of the exclusive representatives of employees of the California State University.”
The appointment would be for two years. The nonfaculty member of the Board would not be able to participate on any subcommittee of the Board responsible for collective bargaining negotiations. [Note: The same restriction applies to the faculty member on the Board.] [3/2/01 Legislative Update]
Status: PASSED by the
Assembly Higher Education Committee, 4/17; by the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, 5/2; by the full Assembly, 5/10, and by the Senate Education
Committee, 7/11. In each case the vote
was cast along partisan lines, with Democrats favoring the bill and Republicans
opposing it.
[Note: CSU has maintained its “oppose” position on this bill, primarily because of the concern that the nonfaculty member selected by an employee organization would face a conflict of interest when taking action on budget matters.
AB 521 (Koretz) Student Credit Cards - “Student Financial Responsibility Act”
As currently written, this bill defines student credit cards, and requests the UC, CSU, the California Community Colleges, and the private and independent colleges and universities in the state to adopt policies to regulate the marketing practices used on campuses by credit card companies.
Specifically, the bill would require credit card vendors to register with campus administration before coming onto a campus and would limit the number of sites where they could set up tables. The bill would also ban credit card vendors from soliciting students on campus with free gifts, and, finally, it would require campuses to make credit card and debt education and counseling sessions a regular part of campus orientation for new students. [3/2/01, 4/27/01, 6/8/01, 7/6/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: PASSED [11-3] by the Senate Education Committee on July 18, and sent forward to the Senate Appropriations Committee on the same date. [Note: The nay votes were cast by Senators Ray Haynes (R - Riverside), Pete Knight (R - Palmdale), and Dick Monteith (R - Modesto).]
AB 540 (Firebaugh) Public Higher Education: Residency Requirements
This bill would require that “an illegal alien who has attended high school in the state for 3 or more years, and has graduated from a California high school, or attained the equivalent thereof, be exempted from paying nonresident tuition at the California Community Colleges and the CSU.” The bill requests the University of California to provide the same exemption. [3/2/01, 5/25/01, 7/6/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: PASSED [11 – 2] by the Senate Education Committee on July 18, and sent forward to the Senate Appropriations Committee on the same date. [Note: The two dissenting votes were cast by Senators Ray Haynes (R – Riverside) and Pete Knight (R – Palmdale).]
AB 1081 (Nation) CSU Part-Time Faculty Benefits
This bill, which is sponsored by the California Faculty Association (CFA), would allow temporary CSU faculty who work two consecutive semesters or three consecutive quarters at 40% of full time or more to be members of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), if so provided in a collective bargaining agreement. [3/29/01, 6/8/01 Legislative Updates]
[Note: Existing law provides that these employees must work at least half-time to be eligible for membership in CalPERS. CFA believes the 40% threshold more accurately reflects “half-time” teaching responsibilities for CSU lecturers, when compared to full-time faculty. The 50% load criterion is based on a full-time load that includes non-classroom responsibilities such as campus committee and/or department responsibilities, responsibilities that lecturers generally do not participate in or are compensated for.
The CSU opposes this bill because it signals to CSU bargaining organizations that the benefit it would provide is endorsed by the Legislature, and thus is an entitlement at the bargaining table.]
Status: PASSED [3 - 2] by the Senate Committee on Public Employment and Retirement, July 9, and referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee on the same date. [Note: Mirroring earlier actions taken by Assembly committees on this bill, the vote was cast along partisan lines, with Democrats in support and Republicans opposed.]
SB 844 (Chesbro) Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2002
As initially introduced, this bill sought to enact a K - University Facilities Bond Act, for an unspecified amount, on the March 5, 2002 statewide Primary ballot. The funds from the sale of the General Obligation bonds authorized by this bill would be used to construct new, or renovate existing, facilities or acquire sites.
The bill was amended on May 31 to state simply the intent of the Legislature to provide bond funds for public education facilities.
As amended on July 5, this bill would enact the Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2002, to become operative only if approved by the voters at the March 5, 2002 statewide Primary election. The bill would authorize the issuance of state General Obligation bonds in the amount of $17 billion to fund construction of new, and renovation of existing, public school facilities. Of this amount, $11.2 billion would be earmarked for K-12, and $5.8 billion for higher education.
As amended on July 18 in the Assembly Higher Education Committee, the amount of GO bonds authorized for K-12 was reduced to $10 billion, and an unspecified amount authorized for higher education. [3/29/01, 6/8/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: PASSED [14 - 0] by the Assembly Education Committee, July 11, and referred to the Assembly Higher Education Committee on the same date.
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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
July 6, 2001
1. No Budget – Déjà vu. Despite holding a majority in both houses of the Legislature, the Democrats have not been able to pass the state Budget in time for the Governor to approve it by the Constitutional deadline. In order to garner the required 2/3 vote, the Democrats need one vote in the Senate and four votes in the Assembly. The hang-up is over the ¼ cent decrease in the state sales tax, which Governor Davis spearheaded on a temporary basis earlier this year. Republicans want to make the decrease permanent, while Democrats want to reinstate the quarter cent tax to compensate for the loss in state revenues, owing in part to the drop in the Stock Market, and to the drain on the General Fund from power purchases.
The issue is of great importance to public higher education, which so far has not had its budget reduced beyond the $70 million sliced off in the Governor’s May Revise. If the ¼ cent tax is not reinstated, some $500 million in additional cuts to the state budget will have to be made--with higher education a prime target.
2. Ward Connerly is back. The UC Regent, who lead the movement behind Prop. 209, which eliminated state and local government affirmative action programs in the areas of public employment, public education, and public contracting, has launched a new initiative campaign to bar the state from collecting racial data in these same three areas. As with Prop. 209, the measure, which will be known as the Racial Privacy Initiative, would not affect private business, nor would it trump existing federal law. Although critics of his effort believe that collecting racial data is essential to proving discrimination, Connerly asserts that the practice is itself discriminatory in that it forces people to segregate ethnic groups, and is counter to the image of the “melting pot,” that is central to the country’s founding principles. Connerly also believes that “with no clear racial majority” today, “race is a meaningless, antiquated designation that belongs in the scrap heap.”
The measure is currently in circulation and needs 670,816 signatures to qualify for the March 2002 ballot.
3. The U.S. Supreme Court has declined once again to hear the Hopwood v. Texas lawsuit, which led to the abolition of affirmative action at public colleges in Texas. The case was on appeal, filed by the University of Texas Law School in response to a decision handed down in 1996 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, that barred the law school from considering race in admitting students. The Appeals Court repudiated the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in the 1978 UC Regents v. Bakke case, in which the High Court found that the pursuit of diversity justified a college’s use of race as one of many factors in deciding whom to admit.
The Supreme Court may be forced to take up the issue within the next few years, however, since lower federal courts have ruled differently on it, resulting in “irrational and unbearable variation in applicable law, as the University of Texas Law School stated in arguing for the case to be heard. As an example, the University of Washington’s Law School had a similar case, on which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (which covers the western United States) ruled that the school’s admissions policy should be determined by the same principles governing the Bakke case.
4. President Bush announced last week that he had appointed Gerald Reynolds as his nominee to become Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights. The news has generated opposition from affirmative action proponents because Reynolds is perceived to be opposed to affirmative action in university admissions. Reynolds is a member of the Center for New Black Leadership, a group which opposes affirmative action and which also advocates school voucher programs.
The June 26 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education reported on two articles written by Reynolds, which opponents to his nomination have cited as reflective of his beliefs on affirmative action with regard to minorities. Excerpts, in part:
“Race-based affirmative-action policies harm many of their intended beneficiaries, as well as better-qualified white and Asian competitors. [These] policies have the effect of shielding blacks from unfettered competition in college admissions, [and] have placed too many middle-class blacks in a protective cocoon. [Affirmative-action policies also] cheapen the accomplishments of those blacks who meet or exceed the same standards met by whites and Asians.” (Congressional Quarterly Researcher, 1998)
“I would like to suggest that solving the spiritual and economic problems that are devastating many black communities is far more important than maintaining racial preference policies whose benefits are restricted to those blacks who possess ‘middle-class’ values. The debate over racial preferences has distracted us from problems that are destroying black communities.” (Black Family Today, 1997)
Reynolds’ appointment is subject to Senate confirmation.
5. The U.S. Supreme Court is being urged by the Bush Administration to consider the issue of school vouchers. There are currently three cases dealing with the constitutionality of a program in Ohio that provides tuition aid to parents of students in failing public schools in Cleveland. Parents can use the aid to enroll their children in private schools—including religious schools.
The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals declared the Ohio Pilot Project Scholarship Program unconstitutional, ruling that it violated the separation of church and state inherent in the First Amendment. The Justice Department, in arguing for the Supreme Court to take the case, posits that the scholarship program does not violate the Constitution because it distributes aid neutrally among students without regard to religion, and, further, that parents are not forced to send their children to religious schools.
The issue of school vouchers is a tumultuous one nationwide. In California, two initiatives that would have established school voucher programs were overwhelmingly rejected by voters in 1993 and again in 2000 (by similar 70% to 30% margins). Despite these defeats, it is unlikely that the issue will go away. Proponents still talk about yet another initiative effort.
Last February when President Bush unveiled his education reform proposal, where school vouchers were prominently featured, he was careful to avoid the word “voucher,” substituting “options” in its place. An aide to Rep. John Boehner (R – Ohio), the new chair of the House Committee on Education, commented at the time, “A voucher is something that has become so demonized over the years that it has become ineffective.”
As with the issue on affirmative action in admissions, school voucher programs may be yet another issue that the U.S. Supreme Court finds itself forced to hear.
6. President Bush has nominated physicist John H. Marburger to be Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Marburger is currently the Director of the Brookhaven National Laboratory, in New York. The Laboratory conducts basic and applied research for the Department of Energy. Prior to this position, Marburger was the President of SUNY, Stony Brook, for 14 years.
Marburger’s nomination was greeted enthusiastically by research scientists, with the only concern being that the President wouldn’t consult him on some key issues, such as fetal cell research, which Republicans are divided on, and on designing a missile-defense system, also the subject of controversy.
Marburger’s appointment requires Senate confirmation, which is expected with little or no opposition.
* NEW LEGISLATION OF INTEREST *
Note: Bills must be in print for 30 days before they can be heard by a committee.
ACR 92 (Firebaugh) California Arts Council
This Assembly Concurrent Resolution recognizes and extends congratulations to the California Arts Council on its 25th anniversary, and joins in the commemoration of the Council’s “The Year of the Arts - 2001” campaign.
The measure also declares October 10, 2001, as California Arts Day.
Introduced: June 28, 2001
SCR 36 (Burton) Supreme Court Justice Stanley Mosk
This Senate Concurrent Resolution seeks to rename the State Library and Courts Building as the Stanley Mosk Library and Courts Building, in honor of the late Supreme Court Justice, who died on June 19, after serving 37 years on the High Court.
Introduced: June 26, 2001
Status: Adopted by the Senate on June 26, and by the Assembly on June 27.
* STATUS OF PREVIOUSLY INTRODUCED LEGISLATION *
AB 521 (Koretz) Student Credit Cards
As currently written, this bill defines student credit cards, and requests the UC, CSU, the California Community Colleges, and the private and independent colleges and universities in the state to adopt policies to regulate the marketing practices used on campuses by credit card companies.
Specifically, the bill would require credit card vendors to register with campus administration before coming onto a campus and would limit the number of sites where they could set up tables. The bill would also ban credit card vendors from soliciting students on campus with free gifts, and, finally, it would require campuses to make credit card and debt education and counseling sessions a regular part of campus orientation for new students.
As amended on June 26, the bill was amended to change the title of the Act from “Credit Card Marketing Practices” to the “Student Financial Responsibility Act.” [3/2/01, 4/27/01, 6/8/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: PASSED [5 - 2] by the Senate Judiciary Committee, July 3.
AB 540 (Firebaugh) Public Higher Education: Residency Requirements
As initially introduced, this bill sought to require that “an illegal alien who has attended high school in the state for 3 or more years, and has graduated from a California high school, or attained the equivalent thereof, be exempted from paying nonresident tuition at the California Community Colleges and the CSU.” The bill asked the University of California to provide the same exemption.
The bill was amended on May 1 to express instead various findings and declarations, and legislative intent with respect to the impact of student aid residency requirements and nonresident tuition payment requirements on undocumented students.
As amended on June 20, the provisions (in paragraph one above) that had been deleted on May 1 were put back into the bill--and the May 1 amendment pertaining to “findings and declarations” was deleted. [3/2/01, 5/25/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: Placed on Suspense in the Senate Education Committee on June 27.
[Note: According to CSU’s Governmental Affairs Office in Sacramento, the bill was sent to Suspense because, for reasons unknown, the Department of Finance placed a price tag of $62 million on the bill. No one seems to know how the DOF arrived at this number. One theory is that the DOF multiplied the anticipated number of students in this category by the marginal cost of instruction. It is anticipated that the trip to the Suspense File is temporary, and that the bill will emerge and continue on its path in the State Legislature.]
ACR 73 (Strom-Martin) California State University: Faculty Hiring Practices
This Assembly Concurrent Resolution, sponsored by the California Faculty Association, urges the CSU Board of Trustees to study its faculty hiring practices over the past decade in order to make improvements in those practices. It urges the Trustees, along with the Academic Senate of the CSU and the California Faculty Association, to jointly develop a plan to raise the percentage of tenured or tenure-track faculty to at least 75%, and would urge the CSU to provide a report to the Legislature by May 1, 2002. [5/25/01, 6/22/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: ADOPTED by the Assembly Appropriations Committee on June 27.
SB 43 (Murray) Release of Student Information
This bill would provide a specific exception to current federal educational privacy law so that students in California postsecondary institutions must opt-in prior to the release of specified personal information. [Currently, students are required to opt-out.] More specifically, this bill would:
1) Prohibit a postsecondary educational institution from designating locating information about a student as directory information (thereby generally making the information public) as permitted under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) unless the student affirmatively requests that the information be designated as such.
2) Prohibit college alumni or other campus associations from selling student information to a credit card company or other company. As amended on July 3, “credit card company or other company” has been replaced with the term “third party.” [12/8/00, 5/25/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: FAILED PASSAGE [5 - 3] in the Assembly Higher Education Committee, July 3. [Seven votes were needed for passage.] The bill’s author requested and was granted reconsideration. To be reconsidered this year will require a rule waiver. If the author is unable to obtain a waiver, the bill will be turned into a “two-year” bill, and will be taken up next January.
SB 323 (O’Connell) CSU, Channel Islands - Real Property Exchange TRUSTEE BILL
This bill would authorize the CSU to acquire approximately 75 acres of privately owned farmland adjacent to the main campus at CSU, Channel Islands, in order to develop a primary access road and athletic fields, in exchange for a portion of a 262-acre site, located eight miles northwest of the main campus.
The bill additionally provides that (1) any funds received be encumbered by January 1, 2007; (2) any expenditure of funds, which were received by the CSU as the result of this bill, be consistent with the Channel Islands master plan; and (3) through the exchange of land authorized by this bill, the CSU shall acquire land sufficient to meet the goals of the Channel Islands master plan, but shall not acquire more than 75 acres.
An Urgency Clause was added to the bill before it was sent forward to the Assembly. [3/16/01, 4/27/01, 5/11/01, 5/25/01 Legislative Updates]
[Note: The larger 262-acre parcel, was acquired by the CSU in 1995 for the Channel Island campus before the grounds of the Camarillo State Hospital, the current site, became available.]
Status: PASSED on Consent by the Assembly Higher Education Committee, July 3.
SB 379 (Alarcon) College Admissions and Outreach
As initially introduced, this bill sought to require the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) to conduct a study to determine the ways in which the UC, the CSU, and the California Community Colleges can improve admissions and outreach.
As amended on June 27, the bill would instead “require CPEC to prepare a report including available data on the socioeconomic status and geographic region of, and the secondary schools attended by, the college and university students of this state, and recommendations for the improvement of data sources and data collection, to supplement existing application review methods and to better assess a student’s background.”
As amended, the bill would require CPEC to submit its report to the Legislature, the Governor, the Director of Finance, the UC, CSU, CCC, and the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities.
A final amendment reduces the appropriation initially provided for preparing this report from $400,000 to $150,000. [3/2/01, 5/11/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: PASSED [7 - 1] by the Senate Appropriations Committee, May 31, with the sole dissenting vote cast by Senator Dick Monteith (R – Modesto); PASSED [27 - 12] by the full Senate, June 4; and PASSED [7 - 1] by the Assembly Higher Education Committee, on July 3, with the dissenting vote cast by Assembly Member Russ Bogh (R – Redlands). The bill will be heard next in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SB 489 (Alquist) Community College Transfer Academies
This bill seeks to create the Pilot Program to Establish Community College Transfer Academies, for the purpose of improving the transfer of community college students to the UC and CSU. The bill requires the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to select a diverse group of community college campuses throughout the state to participate in the pilot program.
An appropriation of $2 million has been provided in the General Fund 2001-02 State Budget Act to implement the bill.
[Note: Despite a variety of efforts to increase the number of students who transfer from a community college to a four-year institution, the number of transfer students has remained relatively flat for the past 10 years. The heads of the three segments of public higher education in California have each signed memoranda of understanding that intend to increase the number of transfer students. These agreements include commitments to improve articulation procedures, provide more information through transfer centers, broaden outreach, and develop more regional transfer alliances that coordinate beyond the statewide transfer agreements. SB 489 is intended to assist these efforts and to provide funding to augment existing transfer centers or establish transfer academies at those community colleges with historically low rates of transfer to the UC and CSU. This legislation is supported by the UC, CSU, and the California Postsecondary Education Commission.]
Status: PASSED [10 - 0] by the Senate Appropriations Committee, and by the full Senate [27 - 7] on June 7; and PASSED [10 - 0] by the Assembly Higher Education Committee on July 3. The bill will be heard next in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SB 517 (Torklason) Bond Funds for Joint-Use Facilities
This bill would require the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) to consider the development of facilities to be used by more than one segment of public higher education, and to recommend to the legislature criteria and processes for the different segments to utilize bond funds for the joint-use facilities. [3/2/01 Legislative Update]
Status: PASSED [11 – 0] by the Assembly Appropriations Committee, June 27. The bill has been placed on the Assembly Consent Calendar, and will go forward to the Governor.
SB 593 (Alarcon) CSUN: Land Exchange TRUSTEE BILL
This bill authorizes the CSU Board of Trustees to exchange a parcel of land known as “Zelzah Court” on the campus of California State University, Northridge, for the Prairie Street School site, adjacent to the campus, which is owned by the Los Angeles Unified School District. The bill contains an Urgency Clause, which means it would take effect upon the Governor’s signature, rather than on January 1, 2002. [3/2/01, 4/27/01, 5/11/01 6/8/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: PASSED on Consent by the Assembly Higher Education Committee on July 3, and sent forward to the Assembly Appropriations Committee where it is expected to be heard on August 22.
SB 824 (Poochigian) DNA Training
This bill would make findings and declarations concerning the urgent need for forensic scientists with the rigorous scientific backgrounds and the practical laboratory experiences necessary to perform DNA analysis. The bill also provides that “the Department of Justice, the CSU, and the UC, shall work together to enhance collaborative opportunities for DNA training of university students, graduates, and existing employees of crime laboratories.”
In addition, the bill provides that, through its California Criminalistics Institute, the Department of Justice would develop and create an internship program for graduate-level students designed to prepare students to meet national standards for DNA analysis, as specified. [5/25/01 Legislative Update]
Status: PASSED [13 - 0] by the Senate Appropriations Committee, May 31; PASSED [40 – 0] by the full Senate, June 6; and PASSED [12 - 0] by the Assembly Higher Education Committee, July 3. The bill will be heard next in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SJR 1b (Karnette) Daylight Saving Time
This Senate Joint Resolution, introduced in the second Special Session on the state’s energy crisis, memorializes Congress to approve legislation that will allow a state to uniformly apply Daylight Saving Time all year round.
A June 18 amendment added specific detail from a report issued by the California State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, that demonstrates the amount of power that would be saved in megawatts, and the ensuing cost savings to ratepayers, should Daylight Saving Time be applied year round. [2/2/01, 5/11/01 Legislative Updates]
Status: CHAPTERED by the Secretary of State. [Resolution Chapter No. 1]
[Note: Representative Brad Sherman (D - Woodland Hills) has introduced a bill in Congress (H.R. 704), which would allow California and other Pacific states the option of switching to Daylight Saving Time year-round. H.R. 704 was referred to the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection on March 14, where it remains. No action has been taken on the bill yet.]
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