Four-year tuition freeze proposed in May Revise

Gov. Jerry Brown released revisions to his 2013-2014 state budget today, including a proposed four-year tuition freeze at the University of California and incremental increases in higher education funding.

Each year, the governor releases a budget proposal in January, detailing their plans for the following fiscal year. In May, they release a “May Revise” that changes the proposal based on economic feasibility or concerns from involved parties.

In January, Brown released his initial state budget proposal, which included $25.8 billion for higher education funding.

In the budget revision he unveiled today, he proposed allocating $25.4 billion for higher education – $4 million lower than his original proposal.

At a press conference this morning, Brown said decreases in economic growth in past months have led to changes in his budget across the board, including lower expected revenues than previously stated.

“For the first time in more than a decade, we have a balanced budget, and it’s solid,” Brown said at the press conference. “(But) there are risks.”

According to the text of the May Revise, the state budget remains stable by only a narrow margin.

“The state must begin to plan now to ensure that the budget will remain balanced after the temporary Proposition 30 tax revenues expire,” the revised budget proposal states.

The budget revision proposes a multi-year plan to maintain fiscal stability within the state’s public university systems. This primarily consists of a 20 percent general fund increase over a four-year period – amounting to a total of about $511 million each for the UC and California State University systems.

The budget proposal also includes a four-year tuition freeze at the UC, starting next year.

Such a tuition freeze, however, would need to be approved by the UC Board of Regents.

The governor’s revised proposal shows his continued commitment to increasing funding for the UC, said Patrick Lenz, UC vice president for budget and capital resources, in a statement after the May Revise was unveiled.

The savings will provide increased fiscal stability that will allow the University to invest in the Governor’s proposed performance standards, he said in the statement.

Brown’s funding for the UC is linked to performance targets including higher graduation rates, increased number of transfer students and increased number of degrees achieved by low-income individuals.

Brown’s proposal in January included capping the number of units students at public universities could take. Because of concerns raised since then, the May Revise withdraws this proposal.

The statement from the UC supports the administration’s decision to withdraw the credit cap.

Details to complement the summary are “coming soon,” according to the California Department of Finance website.

The California Legislature still has to review and approve the state budget, which is supposed to be finalized by mid-June. The budget typically goes through many changes before it is finalized.

The UC Regents will meet on Wednesday and Thursday, and plan to discuss the Governor’s revisions as they apply to the University’s funding.

Compiled by Katherine Hafner, Bruin senior staff.

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