Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget proposal, released Tuesday, does not include any significant changes to his plan for University of California funding.
The May Revise does not include details about offering additional general state funds to the UC aside from the $142 million, or a 5 percent increase from last year, the governor already proposed in his January budget. [UPDATED at 6:10 p.m. The UC is asking for an additional $124.9 million.] The UC Board of Regents is expected to discuss the May Revise on Thursday at its bimonthly meeting in Sacramento.
[UPDATED at 6:10 p.m. “Certainly, we were hoping for more funding,” said Brooke Converse, UC spokeswoman. “It’s the same thing we’ve been asking for all along, and we’ll continue working on it until the budget is signed in June. We’re not giving up.”
Paul Warren, an analyst at the Public Policy Institute of California, said he thinks the governor didn’t increase funding to the UC in the May Revise because he has other, more pressing costs to worry about.
“If I were the Governor, I think my defense would be that … except for the rainy day fund, we really didn’t have money to spend on anything else,” Warren said. “Most of the new money was sucked up by rising health and welfare costs.“]
The budget continues the multiyear funding plan started last year for the UC, in which the University receives 5 percent increases for the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 fiscal years while receiving 4 percent increases the following two years. The plan was contingent on the passage of the temporary tax increase Proposition 30.
Like Brown’s January budget, the May Revise assumes a freeze on resident tuition through the 2016-2017 year and includes $50 million specifically meant to improve outcomes like graduation rates, degree completion times and transfer rates. The UC will still be expected to report its progress on these educational outcomes.
The May Revise, which would increase state general fund spending by less than $1 billion from the proposed January budget, focuses instead on increasing contributions to K-14 teacher and public employee pensions, paying down state debts and liabilities, covering expected increased costs for Medi-Cal, establishing the governor’s proposed rainy-day fund and taking measures to relieve the state of drought.
According to the budget, the state’s revenue is expected to increase by $2.4 billion from 2012-2013 to 2014-2015, but the state will also face many growing and necessary costs, including pension and healthcare.
The state legislature has until June 15 to pass a budget for next year.
Compiled by Kristen Taketa, Bruin senior staff. Contributing reports by Emily Liu, Bruin reporter.
You work up the students for Prop 30. And you what…?