May state budget revision not expected to fulfill UC funding needs
By Rafael Sands
May 14, 2015 1:37 a.m.
Experts say chances are slim that Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised state budget, which will be released Thursday, will include additional funding for the University of California even though the state has received more revenue than expected in the past year due to the growing economy.
Brown’s initial budget proposal, drafted in January, did not account for an extra $2 billion in surplus revenue recently discovered by the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office.
Ryan Miller, a fiscal and policy analyst with the California Legislative Analyst’s Office, said it is unlikely that any of this money will go to the UC because of propositions 98 and 2. The acts require that a large amount of any surplus revenue accrued during periods of economic growth to be given to K-12 schools and community colleges, as well as the state’s rainy day fund for fiscal emergencies.
Miller said it’s difficult to estimate how much excess money will be left over for other budget items once Proposition 98 and Proposition 2 requirements are fulfilled, though he thinks there is still a possibility there will be additional funds available for the UC.
The budget announcement will help determine whether the University chooses to raise its tuition for the 2015-2016 school year.
UC President Janet Napolitano, who has met with Brown in the past few months in a private “committee of two” to talk about the budget, has said in the past that the University cannot continue to function at its current standards without $100 million in state funding on top of what Brown has previously offered. Brown has limited his funding increases to the University in the past, even during times of economic growth.
Under the UC’s tuition hike plan, the UC could raise tuition by up to 5 percent annually for the next five years if the state fails to give it the extra $100 million. Brown has said his current offer for additional funding to the UC is dependent on tuition remaining stagnant.
Paul Warren, an analyst with the Public Policy Institute of California, said he thinks the $2 billion in excess revenue, while a mass of money, is small relative to the $110 billion total of the state budget and by no means unusual. For this reason, he said he doesn’t think the excess money is significant and that it will not mean much for the UC.
In advance of the May budget revision, several groups have taken on efforts to lobby the governor for more UC funding.
The UC Office of the President has been running its campaign, “UC4CA,” while students have been running their own “Dear Governor Brown” campaign to get outside community members to put political pressure on the governor to increase UC funding.
Avi Oved, the UC student regent-designate and an organizer for the “Dear Governor Brown” campaign, said he thinks politically pressuring the governor is the only real way to ensure he will listen to their requests.
The state Legislature will finalize the budget in June. While legislators can adjust the budget from the governor’s May revision, the governor can still use his line-item veto power to block any changes.
The UC Regents will meet at UC San Francisco next week to discuss the May budget revision.
