California state Sen. Leland Yee reintroduced two bills to the state Legislature last week, targeting reform of the University of California and the California State University systems.
The first piece of legislation is Senate Bill 330, which would strengthen the California Public Records Act by requiring support groups created by state universities to make their records open to the public.
Yee’s second proposal is SB 650, which would provide UC and CSU employees with the same legal whistle-blower protection as other state employees, such as the ability to seek damages in court instead of through administrations’ systems.
Both bills have been reintroduced and rewritten in an attempt to strengthen their appeal to the governor after they were vetoed last October.
“(Last year) the bills passed overwhelmingly in both houses,” said Adam Keigwin, Yee’s chief of staff. “What we need to do is educate the governor on the issues and put more pressure on him so he does what is in the best interest of students and faculty, and not what’s in the best interest of the wealthy executives, trustees and regents.”
As part of the plan to appeal to the governor, Yee has rewritten parts of each bill to address the concerns expressed by opponents, such as university administrations, according to Yee’s Web site.
One concern with SB 330, which was created in response to several incidents of misappropriation of university funds at various CSU campuses, was anonymous donors and volunteers, said Peter King, spokesman for the UC Office of the President.
The previous bill would have required such donors and volunteers to submit their names as part of the public record.
“(In addition), we (had) some concerns with vendors and contractors and how much exposure this would create for them and their businesses,” King said. “Just because you do business with UC doesn’t mean you have to open up all your books.”
In response to such criticism, Yee’s new bill includes language that would exempt anonymous donors from submitting their names.
For SB 650, the main concern dealt with the possible undermining of the internal complaint system within the UC and CSU.
“We agree there needs to be some improvement in the state law in terms of whistle-blower protection, but (Yee’s) approach in the crafting of the legislation was flawed, and it undercut the internal system affording to seek out whistle-blowers itself,” King said. “We think you have to have a vigorous internal administrative review system in hand to make that work.”
While the bill still ensures that UC and CSU employees can exercise their legal rights to seek damages in court, it also guarantees that such legal action can only be taken after the university has either reached or failed to reach a decision within an established time limit.