Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) is famous for introducing legislation that frustrates and annoys University of California administrators. His latest, SB 218 and SB 219, would go a long way toward providing much-needed oversight for all state schools ““ including the UC.
SB 218 will change the California Public Records Act to “include auxiliary organizations that receive public funds or perform government functions on state campuses,” according to a news release.
This will be vital in ensuring organizations like Associated Students UCLA and the Academic Senate are subject to public records requests and that newspapers like the Daily Bruin and Los Angeles Times can continue to hold them accountable.
SB 219 will extend whistleblower protections to UC employees ““ which would mean UC workers could safely report abuse of power and state money without fearing for their jobs.
It’s important to maintain protection for workers and ensure the public has access to information that can hold administrators accountable.
Our suggestion for another piece of legislation: Hold the Academic Senate accountable to state open meeting laws.