by Charles Nash
UC faculty had a great deal to be pleased about when the 1998 Legislative session ended. For example: faculty salary increases averaging 4.5% will bring UC salaries to “parity” with our Comparison-8 institutions for the first time since 1991-92; a $23M appropriation will bring our budgeted enrollment into balance with our headcount enrollment for 1998-99, and a $6M appropriation will provide support for an additional 800 students systemwide in engineering and computer science.
The flush state of the California treasury led to significant “May revisions” of the “January” Governor’s budget that will have very great long-term effects within the University. In March and April the Faculty Associations, mainly through our lobbyist, Jim Bruner, were marshaling support in both houses of the Legislature for a so-called “members request” for funds to arrest the deterioration of the library print collections systemwide. We had very warm receptions everywhere, but no legislation had yet been introduced. We were also actively supporting another “member’s request” coming out of Silicon Valley that was seeking funds to replace obsolete equipment in teaching laboratories.
We were obviously delighted to discover in May that the Governor agreed with us that these were meritorious initiatives. The final budget provided $10M for the library print collections and $20M for equipment replacement. We were even more pleased about having persuaded the legislature to include control language in the budget asking the University to “develop a strategy and a multi-year funding plan, including a request for additional state funding, to address the serious problems facing their libraries…” and to report about the progress being made thereon by March of 1999.
In addition to our efforts on behalf of the budget, the Associations also took positions on other Legislative matters. We actively opposed a bill by Senator “Pete” Knight (R, Palmdale) that would have denied UC and CSU the right to use state funds to provide domestic partners’ benefits. (This bill did not even make it to its first committee hearing.)
We also opposed a constitutional amendment proposed by Senator Teresa Hughes (D, Inglewood) which would have made only the top 12.5% of the graduates of each particular high school eligible for admission to UC. The top 4% from each high school would have been “entitled” to admission. This bill was not heard in the 1997-98 session, but its author has reserved the right to bring it back if UC does not adopt something like the 4% rule on its own.
We supported a Higher Education Funding bill by Cruz Bustamante (D, Fresno) that is identical to the one that passed the Legislature last year but was vetoed by the Governor. To no one’s great surprise it suffered precisely the same fate this year. In his veto message the Governor voiced his support for higher education but stated his preference for another “compact” like the one just concluded. UC and CSU are in fact currently pursuing such a compact even though it can be totally rejected by the incoming Governor and will have no standing with any future Legislature.
We followed but did not take a position on a bill authored by Senator Steve Peace (D, El Cajon) and signed by the Governor that will reduce resident graduate student (but not professional student) fees by 5% in 1999-2000. It also lifts the freeze on professional school fees that was enacted last year. In its present form the bill says that such a fee reduction will take place only if UC receives equivalent funding from the State. We will continue to monitor the implementation of this provision.