During last-minute legislative negotiations, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed 221 bills on Sunday, one of which would have banned pay hikes for top administrators at public universities during times of financial crisis.
However, the University of California system would not have been affected by the passage of the bill, as the 10 campuses have autonomy from the California legislative process, said Peter King, UC Office of the President spokesman.
“They can recommend that (the UC) do this, but since 1879, we don’t have to do anything,” he said, referencing the date that a section guaranteeing the university’s independence from political affairs was added to the California Constitution.
He added that the UC has already enacted similar regulations, including the declining and freezing of salaries since Fall 2008.
Thus, he said that the bill would have affected the California State University system, as the 23 campuses do not have autonomy from the state government.
“The CSU had serious concerns about the effect of SB 86 (the vetoed bill) on the system’s ability to govern itself and to attract and retain the best available employees,” said Erik Fallis, CSU spokesman.
In May, State Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) proposed a bill that would have allowed voters to decide the fate of the UC’s self-governance in response to issues including executive compensation and contract conflicts between the university and its employees.
“The bill would ask voters whether UCs should have the same relationship to the legislature as CSU,” said Eduardo Martinez, legislative director for Yee. “The regents would still run it, but they would no longer be above the law.”
However, through lobbying efforts by UC President Mark Yudof and various administrators, the bill was never approved and did not receive a hearing in the state legislature, Martinez said.
The idea is not dead yet, though.
“We will continue to press forward to get it heard,” Martinez said, adding that the bill may re-appear sometime next year, although the exact date is uncertain.
At the same legislative assembly, Schwarzenegger approved 230 bills, including a commemoration of the birthday of gay-rights leader Harvey Milk and a tougher anti-paparazzi law.