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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
December 18, 2002
1. Sobering news on the state Budget and education funding. The news has been replete with reports on the Legislative Analyst’s latest projections on the state Budget deficit, this year, next year, and for the next 3 years thereafter. The initial $21 billion shortfall has been “upgraded” to $27 billion, with some predicting an even greater increase to $30 billion. Last week’s edition of Political Pulse’s Education Beat put the $21 billion number into perspective in relation to what it means in comparison to other state programs--and to education funding:
· $21 billion is equivalent to 25% of the anticipated $85.2 billion in general fund expenditures currently projected for 2003-04;
· $21 billion is about twice as much as the total general fund allocation for higher education;
· $21 billion is more than four times the money spent on prisons; and
· $21 billion is about twice what is spent on Medi-Cal benefits.
Adjusting the above comparisons in the context of $30 billion would be a gruesome exercise.
Education Beat also notes the Legislative Analyst’s assumptions, given Prop. 98 and current spending patterns: “K-12 spending increases under Prop. 98 by an average of 4.3% per year through 2007-08; community colleges get an average 5.4%, CSU 5%, and UC 5.1% over the same time period. If increases of that order of magnitude were to be approved in the next budget year, on top of what is currently allocated for education, the rest of the state budget would have to be cut by 48.6%.”
To view the Legislative Analyst’s report, go to this website: http://www.lao.ca.gov and click on the first publication listed: “California’s Fiscal Outlook: LAO Projections, 2003-04 Through 2007-08.”
2. There’s no shortage of suggestions on how to cope with the state Budget deficit. California Political Week (CalPeek) proposes that the Governor institute a 15-20% cut across the board; seek an overhaul of Prop. 98, establish a meaningful budget reserve, and sponsor an initiative to change the vote requirement needed to pass the budget (from 2/3 to 55%).
CalPeek also reports several suggestions offered by Lenny Goldberg, of the California Tax Reform Association: (1) Amending Prop. 13 to allow non-residential property to be assessed at market value, while retaining the 1% rate; (2) raising the personal income tax rate on the wealthiest California taxpayers; (3) revising Prop. 98 so that the school funding formula becomes a floor rather than a ceiling, “which goes higher and higher without any end in sight”; and (4) extending the $450 million business investment tax credit that is due to expire in 2004.
The California Chamber of Commerce has a different recipe, as conveyed in its publication, Alert:
· Reduce government spending by considering several or all of the following: (1) the reduction and possible elimination of programs; (2) suspension of COLAs [cost of living increases]; (3) building efficiency into government; (4) possible deferrals of spending; (5) aggressive lobbying to bring more federal dollars to California; (6) selling state-owned assets; and (7) broadening the tax base.
· Stabilize revenues and expenditures. The Chamber suggests that the state “wean itself from its reliance on the tax on capital gains and find a more stable means of generating revenues.”
· Look farther into the future. The Chamber makes the no-brainer suggestion that state budgeting “be predicated on a long-term plan for economic recovery.”
Of the California Chamber’s three proposals, the last is the most important--and the most difficult to achieve. Unfortunately, as a result of term limits, California has a cadre of legislators thinking in the short term in a state with long-term problems.
Finally, the Legislative Analyst, Elizabeth Hill, weighed in this week with a long list of recommendations, which included restoring the motor vehicle license fees to their former level (producing about $4.7 billion), increasing the income tax rate for the state’s wealthiest taxpayers (generating about $2.5 billion), hiking the sales tax by a half-cent (another $2.5 billion), and imposing the sales tax on amusement parks and other recreational facilities (yet another $2.5 billion). In terms of cuts, the Analyst noted that the Department of Corrections--a major donor to the Governor--had escaped virtually unscathed in the Governor’s recent plan to begin closing the current year budget gap. Governor Davis indicated that the plan is not a finished product, but a work in progress, and that he had not ruled out cuts to the Department in the 2003-04 Budget he will introduce to the Legislature on January 10.
3. CSU’s share of the currently proposed budget cuts. Although the Governor’s proposal delineates $59.6 million in unspecified reductions for the CSU system, the actual total approaches $125 million. The system began the 2002-03 academic year with $43 million in cuts, as well as another $22.8 million in unfunded costs for health benefit premiums and unfunded salary expenses.
Chancellor Charles Reed, at a special meeting of the Board of Trustees on December 16, proposed increases in student tuition, effective with the spring semester, to offset the pending significant budget reductions to the CSU. The midyear increases--$72 for undergraduates and $114 for graduate students--were approved by the Trustees on a 13 - 3 vote. Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante was one of the 3 dissenters, arguing that action to increase fees is premature since the Legislature has not yet reviewed the cuts proposed for higher education. He also feared the fees would affect access to a higher education by middle- and working-class families.
The Board of Regents of the University of California took a similar action on the same day, voting to raise its student fees by 11%. Students around the state protested both the CSU and UC Board actions.
The Trustees took their action reluctantly, concerned about the broader issue of access, which includes obtaining the classes needed to graduate and the support services to assist in that effort. Board of Trustees Chair Debra S. Farar stated, “Because I have always been a strong proponent of maintaining low fees, it is painful for me to consider fee increases. However, the magnitude of the current budget crisis leaves us with only one responsible choice: to take action now, rather than waiting for the situation to deteriorate. Raising fees is the only viable option if we are to continue to provide high-quality programs to the 406,000 students we have pledged to serve.”
At Cal State Northridge, President Jolene Koester indicated that prudent management of expenditures has allowed the campus to take the Governor’s current year reductions without directly impacting the spring class schedule. However, some of the savings were achieved by not buying instructional equipment and library materials. There is concern that further cuts in these areas could affect the quality of educational programs, and further, that the university may not be able to protect the class schedule from the force of next year’s budget blows.
CSU’s state university fee would rise from $1428 to 1572 (10%) annually for undergraduates, and from $1506 to $1734 (15%) for graduate students. Additional campus-based fees, such as Health Services, Associated Students, and Student Union fees, are not subject to these increases.
California’s postsecondary education systems have not increased resident student fees for eight years. Even with the Chancellor’s proposed increases, they remain among the lowest in the country. Another perspective worth noting: CSU’s current student resident fee is about a twelfth of the $24,258 average of fees at its five private comparison universities. Revenue from the fee increase--estimated at $30 million--would be divided between support of the CSU ($20 million) and financial aid for students ($10 million).
4. Budget deficits aren’t limited to California. Forty-nine of the 50 states are facing budget deficits in the new year. CalPeek reports that the combined deficits among all states is $68 billion. (Wyoming is the sole state without a projected deficit--as of this writing.)
Cost-saving ideas emanate from interesting sources: Associated Press reports that Indiana University is eliminating its GradPact program, which guaranteed completion of a degree program in four years--or students wouldn’t be charged for the remaining courses. The program was dropped because of the high cost involved to adapt it to a new computer system.
5. Initiatives are circulating for the March and November 2004 ballots--and 3 have already qualified.
On the March 2, 2004 Ballot:
· AB 16 (Hertzberg): K - University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2004. (This $12.3 billion Bond Act is the second half of the $13.05 billion Prop. 47 measure passed by voters on November 5.) The $12.3 billion would provide $10 billion to K-12 and $2.3 billion for the 3 segments of higher education, using the same 30%/30%/40% formula specified in Prop. 47.
· ACA 11 (Richman): Infrastructure Finance: (Legislative approval of this Constitutional Amendment was part of the deal Republicans made in breaking the deadlock on approving the 2003 Budget.) This measure seeks to establish the California 21st Century Infrastructure Investment Fund, into which a specified percentage of General Fund revenues would be deposited for capital outlay purposes related to acquisition, construction, or renovation of roads, highways, transportation, water, parks and open space (but not infrastructure needs of schools or community colleges). The initial transfer would be at 1%, increasing gradually over the next decade to 3%, where it would remain for each year thereafter. The measure contains triggers that would reduce the percentage in years when revenues are below expectations.
· Constitutional Amendment Initiative (UC Regent Ward Connerly, sponsor): Classification by Race, Ethnicity, Color or National Origin. This already highly controversial measure would bar the state from classifying individuals by race, ethnicity, color or national origin. It does contain some exemptions. Data collected in compliance with federal programs or to receive federal funding, for example, would be exempt. The measure also allows the Legislature, upon a 2/3 vote, to enact other exemptions. One provision guaranteed to cause controversy would prevent the state from banning racial profiling by local law-enforcement agencies.
In circulation for the March 2004 ballot:
· State and County Clemency Boards. This Initiative Constitutional Amendment seeks to amend the state Constitution to repeal the Governor’s authority to grant clemency. The measure creates a state clemency board and clemency mini-boards in each of California’s 58 counties. The boards would have final authority, including the power to grant clemency or reduce sentences to remedy unjust prison treatment. Finally, the measure would establish an elected statewide office of Administrator to receive clemency petitions, deliver prisoner requests to the mini-boards, handle financial matters, and rule in fairness of the clemency process.
The impetus for this measure is Governor Davis’ intractable views on pardoning criminals convicted of capital crimes, even when the Parole Board, and in some cases, Judges and District Attorneys have been supportive of prisoners they feel have been rehabilitated.
· Sale of Stocks. This measure seeks to amend the state personal income tax law relating to sale of stock purchased through incentive stock option programs. Among other things, it would exempt from the alternative minimum tax, unrealized gains from the exercise of incentive stock options, and it would subject gains realized upon sale of stock purchased through incentive stock options to regular tax provisions.
· Judicial Summary Judgment Procedure. This referendum seeks to overturn amendments to the Judicial Summary Judgment procedure that were approved by the Legislature and Governor in 2002.
On the November 2, 2004 ballot:
· SB 1856 (Costa): Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act of the 21st Century. This $9.95 billion bond measure would fund the planning and construction of a high-speed train system in California, with $9 billion to be used with available federal funds for the train system, and $950,000 earmarked for capital projects on other passenger rail lines to connect them to the high speed system.
In circulation for the November 2004 ballot:
· Open Primary. The newest plan, which is being promoted by the California Chamber of Commerce and the California Business Roundtable, would provide that the two candidates who receive the most votes in a Primary Election--regardless of party--would face each other in the General Election. [The last proposal for an Open Primary--Prop. 198 in 1996, which permitted cross-over votes by both parties--was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000.]
6. Recent survey on charitable giving in the 50 states reveals some surprises. Mississippi, the state most often cited as occupying the bottom rung of just about any survey, was ranked as the most generous state in terms of charitable giving. Although the state ranked 49th in annual income, it ranked at the top of the list for giving. The stingiest state is New Hampshire, with its annual income ranked 6th, but dead last in terms of charitable giving. California ranked 4th in annual income and 12th in giving.
* NEW LEGISLATION OF INTEREST *
Note: Bills must be in print for 30 days before they can be heard by a committee.
AB 46 (Simitian) Identity Theft
Prohibits any university or college located in the state from using a social security number as a student identifier. Prohibits any employer from requiring an employee to use his or her social security number for any purpose other than taxes.
Introduced: December 2, 2002
AB 60 (Dymally) CSU: African American Political Institute
Changes the name of the African American Political Institute at Cal State Northridge to the African American Political and Economic Institute. Authorizes the CSU Trustees to establish the Institute at the Dominguez Hills campus instead of the Northridge campus.
Introduced: December 5, 2002
ACA 1 (Longville) Budget Bill: Passage
This Assembly Constitutional Amendment provides that a statute enacting a Budget Bill is effective immediately upon enactment. It also seeks to exclude appropriations made in the Budget Bill from the 2/3 vote requirement, and would require that, if a Budget Bill is not passed by the Constitutional deadline (midnight on June 30), members of the Legislature would forfeit any salary or reimbursement for travel and living expenses for the period from July 1 to the date the Budget Bill is passed.
[Note: This bill and the one below are typically introduced at the beginning of every Legislative Session--with support waning as the budget deadlines approach. No bill exacting penalties on the Legislature for failing to pass a budget on time has ever been adopted and sent on to the Governor.]
Introduced: December 2, 2002
ACA 2 (Maldonado) State Budget
This Assembly Constitutional Amendment seeks to require that, if a Budget bill is not passed by midnight on June 15, members of the Legislature forfeit any salary or reimbursement for travel and living expenses for the period from June 16 to the date a Budget bill is passed.
Introduced: December 2, 2002
SB 6 (Alpert) K - University Master Plan: Public Education Governance
This bill and the one below will ultimately be part of a package of nine bills introduced to implement recommendations of the Joint Legislative Committee on Developing a K - University Master Plan, delivered to the Legislature in August 2002.
Among other things, SB 6 seeks to shift authority over public school operations from the elected Superintendent of Public Instruction to the Governor’s Office. It also would establish the California Education Commission to serve as the statewide education data repository from prekindergarten to postsecondary education, and would require the State Board of Education to be drawn from and represent distinct geographical regions of the state and to reflect ethnic diversity.
The most controversial provisions of the bill relate to the above mentioned change in the state superintendent’s powers, and to a proposed change in the governance structure of the California Community College system, assigning accountability for systemwide governance and representation to the state Board of Governors, and giving the statewide chancellor’s office more power to implement policies.
Thomas Nussbaum, Chancellor of the California Community College system, has already sent a letter to the bill’s author, Senator Dede Alpert (who chaired the Joint Legislative Committee), pointing out the “potentially destructive consequences for our shared goals” if the section in the bill which diminishes the powers of the local district governing boards is implemented.
Introduced: December 2, 2002
SB 7 (Alpert) K - University Master Plan: Child Care, Development and Education
Among other things, SB 7 seeks to make full-day kindergarten compulsory, set up a system of voluntary state-funded preschools, and establish the School Readiness Program to provide grants to applicant agencies to improve a young child’s readiness for school and to improve a school’s readiness for young children.
Introduced: December 2, 2002
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
November 12, 2002
SPECIAL EDITION ON THE ELECTION
1. Education Bond Measures Pass. Voters passed both Proposition 47, the $13.05 billion statewide K-University Facilities Bond Act, and Measure K, the $3.3 billion local school bond--the first by a comfortable 58.9%, and the latter by an astounding 68%. As a result of voter approval of Proposition 39 two years ago, local school bonds need garner only 55% to gain approval. Measure K not only exceeded that standard; it won by more than two-thirds, the prior requirement!
Given the relentless drubbing of the Los Angeles Unified School system by the Daily News, and the high level of distrust in the San Fernando Valley, the odds of voters approving this bond six months ago seemed nil and non-existent. The turnaround can be attributed to the tireless and persistent efforts of one man: School Superintendent Roy Romer who appeared everywhere, pointing to higher test scores, changes in facilities personnel, and the irrefutable need for new schools to relieve overcrowding. He spoke with passion to trust him, trust the changes, and to keep the faith. I saw him enter meetings on the wind of boos--and leave with endorsements for his Measure. In the end even the Daily News supported it. Time will tell whether the charisma was backed with substance.
Measure A, the Earthquake and Fire Safety Bond, garnered 60% of the vote, but fell short of the two-thirds needed for approval. Measure A would have provided Cal State Northridge with $15 million in matching funds toward the earthquake and fire safety construction costs of a new 1600-seat Performing Arts Center. The total cost of the project, which will total 163,000 square feet and include a “black box” theater, lecture hall and classrooms, a rehearsal hall, dressing rooms, lighting lab, design studio, recording studio, and house the campus radio station KCSN 88.5 FM, is $75 million. Using the momentum and heightened awareness of the project provided by the ballot measure, the University will press ahead full steam on its efforts to raise private funds and seek grants.
2. Secession, the polarizing local issue, was rejected citywide. Measure F, to split off the San Fernando Valley from the City of Los Angeles, lost by 67% citywide as had been anticipated--but surprisingly was very narrowly approved in the Valley. With absentee and provisional ballots yet to be counted, Valley support for Measure F currently stands at 50.7%. Measure H, the Hollywood bid for detachment from the City, lost by large margins both citywide (71%) and in Hollywood (69%).
3. No one will ever say, “The way California goes, so goes the country.” While voters in states across the nation heeded President Bush’s call to restore Republican control of Congress, voters in California not only maintained Democratic majorities in the state Legislature, but elected Democrats to all statewide offices (with one close race yet to be decided), and re-elected Democrat Gray Davis Governor.
The unanimity on both national and state levels, however, is largely cosmetic. The country remains pretty much divided, as reflected particularly in the election of Governors. Prior to November 5, Republicans occupied the
Governor’s chair in 27 states; Democrats, 21; and Independents, 2 (Minnesota and Maine). When the dust settled on November 6, the count stood at 25 Republicans and 24 Democrats, with one race (Alabama) hanging in the balance. While Republicans were picking up seats in the House and the Senate, Democrats were making a strong showing in the Governor’s races, taking 10 seats held formerly by Republicans in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois,
Tennessee, Kansas, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Wyoming, New Mexico and Arizona. The tally is significant to both political parties because of the influential role Governors play in presidential elections.
4. The economy did not resonate as a decisive issue on the national level. However, it appeared to be an influential factor in the gubernatorial races. Forty-three of the 50 states are facing varying degrees of red ink. Many of the incumbents were turned out of office in the belief that new brooms might sweep away the debt. When legislatures reconvene in January, California won’t be the only state faced with the Hobson’s choice of cutting programs and raising taxes. The Legislative Analyst is projecting the 2003-04 budget deficit at about $10 billion--unless dramatic reductions in state spending or increases in taxes plug the drain.
Neither political party has thus far proposed any startlingly different plan of action. In a déjà vu response, GOP Leader David Cox (Fair Oaks) recently announced that Republicans are looking into proposals for scaling back the state bureaucracy by 20% “without harming the people of California,” while Democratic leaders are looking into resurrecting proposals for boosting the top income tax bracket from 9.3 to 11%, increasing state income taxes for wealthy Californians, and adjusting the motor vehicle tax to previous levels.
Although there had been predictions that, following the election, the Governor might call a special session of the Legislature to address the budget crisis, it now appears unlikely he will do so.
The Legislature will convene its first Floor Session of the new year on January 7, and the Governor will present his State of the State address and his 2003-04 Budget a few days later.
5. Deep polarization at both state and national levels will make governing very difficult. While Democrats control everything on the state level, they do not have a 2/3 majority in either house to pass a budget or any legislation having a fiscal provision. On the national level, Republican majorities prevail in both the House and the Senate--but the Republicans do not have sufficient numbers in the Senate to end a filibuster. (Sixty votes are required.) The master of the art of filibustering, Senator Robert C. Byrd (D - West Virginia), is said to be honing his skills in preparation for encounters with Republicans on at least two of their stated priorities: the Homeland Security bill and approval of 90 federal judges whose nominations had been held in abeyance.
Compromise and partisan restraint will be needed by members of both parties, both nationally and in California, if any effective problem-solving or movement on important issues can be accomplished.
6. The winds of change in both the Senate and the House. The shift from Democratic to Republican control will produce major committee changes. Both of California’s Democratic Senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer will lose their subcommittee chairships. Feinstein chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee’s panel on military construction and a Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on technology and terrorism. These posts placed her in a position to advocate for funding for military bases in California.
Senator Boxer chaired the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s subcommittee on waste cleanup and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s subcommittee on terrorism. Although Boxer will retain her seniority on these committees, her influence will be significantly less.
The Chronicle of Higher Education foresees Senator Ted Kennedy (D - Mass), who chairs the Senate Education Committee, being replaced by Senator Judd Gregg (R - New Hampshire), whom the paper describes as a fiscal conservative. Since Republicans maintained their majority in the House, Rep. John A. Boehner (R - Ohio) is expected to remain chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee--and Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon to remain as chair of its Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness, which has jurisdiction over higher education funding, technology in education, welfare reform and welfare-to-work laws. Likewise, Rep. Ralph Regula (R - Ohio), will remain chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, HHS and Education.
In the House, California GOP representatives John Doolittle (Rocklin) and Richard Pombo (Tracy) are expected to move into leadership positions. Doolittle is campaigning to be the caucus secretary, which would put him in the inner sanctum where policy and agenda decisions are made. Pombo is angling to become Chair of the House Resources Committee, which oversees the nation’s national parks, public lands, forests, oceans, water and power, and energy and mineral resources.
House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D - Mo), who announced the day after the election that he would step down from his post, will be replaced by California Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D - San Francisco)--the first woman to hold such a high leadership position.
7. Election Shorts:
· If, as expected, Janet Napolitano is declared the winner in the very tight gubernatorial race in Arizona, the nation will have 7 woman Governors--a record number.
· In California, the election of Linda Sanchez and the re-election of Loretta Sanchez, will put sisters in Congress for the first time.
· Voter News Service broke down, leaving networks without a system to predict winners or call races with just 10% of the votes counted. (And how refreshing it was!)
· A closely watched $20 billion comprehensive, cradle-to-the-grave health plan crashed to defeat in Oregon.
· A measure to eliminate bilingual education passed in Massachusetts, but a similar measure in Colorado was defeated.
· The always interesting state of Florida passed an initiative making it illegal to cage pregnant sows.
· In South Dakota, voters rejected a very controversial measure that would have allowed criminal defense attorneys to argue that juries can ignore laws under which their clients have been charged.
· In Arkansas, voters rejected two high profile issues: proposals to tax food and medicine and to strengthen the penalty for cruelty to animals.
· Tennessee and North Dakota voters approved proposals to join a multi-state lottery, bringing the number of states participating in some kind of lottery to 41 (includes the District of Columbia).
· Voters in Nevada and Arizona rejected initiatives that would decriminalize medical and recreational marijuana (by votes of 60.7 to 39% and 57 to 43% respectively).
· On a vote of 67 to 33%, Nevada voters approved a Constitutional Amendment specifying that only a union by a man and a woman will be recognized.
8. Finally, a word on voter turn-out: Lousy. Just 44.8% of California’s 15,167,159 registered voters showed up at the polls. Voter turnout nationally for the Nov. 5 election was estimated at only 39 percent of all eligible voters. Hardly a mandate for either Republican or Democratic platforms. There were some exceptions, however: In Oregon, the only state to conduct all of its elections by mail, 68% of the registered voters turned out.
9. School Board Member Julie Korenstein to run for 12th District L.A. City Council seat. (Just when you thought you’d said good-bye to elections for a while.) Korenstein filed her declaration of intent to run in the March 4 municipal election one day before the deadline. Incumbent Hal Bernson is termed out, and will be retiring from public life.
The March Primary will feature only candidates running in even-numbered districts. (Odd numbered seats are decided in even-numbered years.) Voters in the 12th District, in which CSUN is located, will have a choice of 6 candidates in addition to Korenstein: Greig Smith, Chief of Staff to Bernson; former Assembly Member Paula Boland; accountant Armineh Chelebian; attorney Ken Aslan; teacher Norman Humberman (the latter 4 of whom also ran for seats in the new Valley city); and businessman Robert Vinson.
In addition to 7 Council seats, there will also be 4 Los Angeles Community College Trustee and 4 Los Angeles School Board seats on the ballot.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
July 26, 2002
1. What’s happening with the state Budget? N o t h i n g. The latest pool among Capitol employees as to when a Budget might be passed contains all mid-to-late August dates. The Assembly is still angry that the Senate passed its version of the budget--and then adjourned to enjoy the Summer Recess. Since so little appears to be going on behind closed doors on the Budget, one could say the Assembly is taking its Summer Recess in Sacramento--but just not enjoying it.
State Controller Kathleen Connell has indicated that, while the majority of the 250,000 state employees will be paid on August 1, state legislators and state officers (including the Governor and herself) will not. Legislative staff members who are paid twice a month have already gone without one paycheck (July 15); the August 1 paycheck will be the second one missed for these employees, who number about 2,400.
2. Secretary of State assigns ballot numbers to Propositions. Seven measures have been approved by the July 19 deadline for placement on the November 5, 2002 ballot, and assigned numbers by the Secretary of State, as follows:
Prop. 46: Housing and Emergency Shelter Trust Fund Act of 2002. This $2.1 billion bond act would provide money to finance housing programs, as follows: (1) Purchase, construct, and rehabilitate emergency shelters and transitional housing for homeless families and individuals; (2) construct rental housing for families and individuals, including the special housing needs of seniors, the disabled, and farmworkers; (3) preserve and rehabilitate affordable homes and rental housing; and (4) provide home purchase assistance to first-time homebuyers.
Prop. 47: K - University Public Education Facilities Bond Acts of 2002. This $13.05 billion bond act would provide $11.4 billion for K-12 public school facilities, $408.2 million for the University of California, $495.9 million for The California State University, and $745.9 million for the California Community Colleges.
Prop. 48: Court Consolidation. Voters earlier approved the merging of superior and municipal courts in all of California’s 58 counties, making references to municipal courts in the state Constitution obsolete. This measure would delete those references.
Prop. 49: After School Programs; State Grants. This measure increases state grant funds available for before- and after-school programs providing tutoring, homework assistance, and educational enrichment. Elementary and middle public schools, including charter schools, would be eligible for grants ranging from $50,000 to $75,000. The measure also declares that funding of these programs would be at least $85 million for the first year, increasing to $550 million annually if state revenues grow.
Prop. 50: Water Quality, Supply and Safe Drinking Water Projects; Coastal Wetlands Purchase and Protection Bonds. This mouthful authorizes the sale of $3.440 billion in General Obligation bonds to fund a variety of water projects; grants and loans to reduce Colorado River water use; purchasing, protecting, and restoring coastal wetlands near urban areas; improved security for state, local and regional water systems; and grants for desalination and drinking water disinfecting projects.
Prop. 51: Transportation. Allocation of Sales and Use Taxes Raised from the Sale or Lease of Motor Vehicles. This measure redirects 30% of the sales tax revenue from the lease and sale of new and used motor vehicles (that currently goes to General Fund supported programs) to transportation-related purposes. The money would be used for mass transit and highway improvements, replacement of certain existing school buses, local street and road repairs, public facilities for transit riders, senior and disabled transportation services, environmental mitigation (e.g., grants for diesel emission reduction) and bicycle and pedestrian improvements.
Prop. 52: Election Day Voter Registration. This measure allows eligible citizens, upon presenting proof of current residence, to register up to and including Election Day. It also increases the penalties for fraudulent registration or voting activity, and makes conspiracy to commit voter fraud a crime, punishable by imprisonment in a state prison.
3. Student retention rates to be the focus of attention when the Higher Education Act comes up for reauthorization next year. Sally Stroup, Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education, stated in a recent address that the primary issues for the U.S. Department of Education, as it works with Congress on reauthorization, will be retention, accreditation, transfer of credit policies, and the perennial biggie--the student loan program.
As quoted in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Stroup said that the data showed retention of first and second year college students “is not good,” and that the Department was interested in looking “at ways to use federal money to reward programs that work.”
Commenting on the issue of accreditation, she said that accreditation “is not about counting books or how many faculty members institutions have.” (She quickly dispelled the specter of the Department becoming involved in the evaluation of higher education institutions, a very controversial proposal that was considered and abandoned seven years ago.)
The issue of transfer-of-credit policies relates to the rejection of courses taken by students at trade or technical colleges by accredited four-year institutions, and not to the lack of course articulation between accredited community colleges and the four-year universities, which is the focus of attention in California.
With respect to the student loan program, Stroup’s concern is whether the current programs serve the non-traditional students, whom she described as “no longer the minority,” and whether existing funds are going to those students who are in need. “Because of loan limits on federally backed loans, many students must take out private loans [at higher interest rates]. We are not helping people by forcing them into alternative loan programs.”
4. Legislative Update will be on vacation during the month of August. Should a Budget be passed during the interim, the CSU Office of Governmental Affairs in Sacramento will be issuing an informational bulletin on it--which will be forwarded to readers of Legislative Update and also posted on my website, which can be accessed at: www.csun.edu/~govrel
* NEW LEGISLATION OF INTEREST *
Note: Bills must be in print for 30 days before they can be heard by a committee.
AJR 56 (Briggs) United States Court of Appeals: Ninth Circuit
This Assembly Joint Resolution makes several declarations about the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [from which a panel of three judges recently ruled unconstitutional the words “under God” contained in the Pledge of Allegiance], including that the Court “has consistently made rulings that are not based on the rule of law and are out of step with the United States Constitution,” and that the “irresponsible judicial conduct of the Ninth Circuit over the last several years does not constitute ‘good behavior.’”
The measure urges members of Congress to initiate impeachment proceedings against judges of the Ninth Circuit.
Introduced: June 28, 2002. Waiting for assignment to a committee.
SCR 96 (Haynes) Pledge of Allegiance
This Senate Concurrent Resolution seeks to preserve the Pledge of Allegiance. It requests the state Attorney General to join the U. S. Department of Justice in repudiating the decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and further requests that the full Ninth Circuit Court and, if necessary, the United States Supreme Court overturn the decision [declaring unconstitutional the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance].
Introduced: June 28, 2002. Waiting for assignment to a committee.
* STATUS OF PREVIOUSLY INTRODUCED LEGISLATION *
AB 1863 (Committee on Higher Educ.) CSU Board of Trustees: Omnibus Bill TRUSTEE BILL
As last amended, this bill retained only one provision from the original content: To grant the CSU permanent authority to adopt, amend, and repeal CSU regulations. Prior to January 1, 1997, all changes to CSU’s portion of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations required advance notice in the state Office of Administrative Law’s (OAL) Notice Register. In addition, OAL’s staff also had to review the proposed changes for “necessity, authority, clarity, consistency, reference, and non-duplication” of the regulation before the changes could be filed with the Secretary of State and published in Title 5.
Legislation approved in 1996 eliminated for a period of 5 years the duplicative notice and review by OAL and allowed the Trustees to notice the rulemaking activity on its own, and to submit the adopted regulation immediately to the Secretary of State, thus ensuring an earlier effective date (and saving costs).
Legislation approved in 2001 extended this authority for one year, and CSU unsuccessfully sought this authority on a permanent basis. As currently written, this bill would extend the authority only for an additional 5 years, from January 1, 2003 to January 1, 2008.
The bill would also require the Trustees each year to report to the Governor, the Senate Education Committee, and the Assembly Higher Education Committee on all regulatory actions taken by the Trustees during the previous calendar year.
Status: APPROVED by the Governor, July 13, and Chaptered by the Secretary of State, July 15. [Chapter 182, Statutes of 2002]