The University of California may get $50 million more in state funding than it was promised for the next school year, but only if California gets more property tax revenue than expected in the coming months. This clause comes from a budget agreement between the state Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown that was announced Friday, the Sacramento Bee reported.
For now, the UC will receive a base increase of $142 million, or a 5 percent increase in state funding for the 2014-2015 fiscal year, as Brown proposed in January. In May, the UC asked for another $124.9 million.
Dianne Klein, a UC spokeswoman, said the UC generally does not comment on the state budget until it has been signed.
The final budget agreement continues Brown’s long-term plan to increase state funding for the UC. The University is scheduled to receive 4 percent increases in the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 fiscal years.
The plan, which assumes a tuition freeze through the 2016-2017 year, is based on temporary tax hikes approved by voters through Proposition 30, which increased income taxes for individuals who make more than $250,000 and also increased state sales taxes. The temporary tax hikes are scheduled to fully expire in 2018-2019.
The state’s budget agreement on higher education remains largely similar to the one Brown proposed in January. There will still be $50 million specifically allocated to public universities to improve performance measures such as graduation rates.
In the statement Friday announcing the agreement, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said the budget shows a brighter outlook for the state.
“(The) agreement … strikes a solid balance of avoiding the deficits of the past while creating a brighter future for Californians,” Steinberg said in the statement.
The $108 billion budget for the state’s general fund includes $250 million in cap-and-trade revenue for Brown’s controversial high-speed rail project that seeks to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles, as well as increased spending on welfare programs like California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids, which provides financial assistance for needy families. The budget also includes funding for preschool programs and $1.6 billion for Brown’s proposed “rainy-day” fund, a reserve that the state will draw from when it is going through a fiscal downturn.
The budget bill is scheduled for a vote in the state Assembly and state Senate on Sunday. The budget needs a majority of votes from both chambers to pass.
Compiled by Jeong Park, Bruin senior staff.