LAO on the Governor's Budget Proposal for UC & CSU Thursday, January 13, 2022
Typically, shortly after the governor releases his budget proposal (which he did on Jan. 10 and which we have reviewed in prior posts), the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) produces its initial response. At the macro level of the budget, the LAO this time suggests that the governor is spending too much and should leave more in reserve. The LAO continues the bad habit of using "surplus" loosely, in this case to mean what the governor should be spending in a "discretionary" fashion. This Alice in Wonderland notion that words mean what you want them to mean is unfortunate but endemic. So, we'll put that issue aside. It's not surprising that the LAO wonders about the proliferation of programs and spending in the proposal since, as we have noted in an earlier post, there is no real sense of priorities. Just about every problem facing California is somehow reflected in the budget and the governor has something to say about them. At the micro level, let's focus on what the LAO says about UC and CSU. Keep in mind, as we have pointed out elsewhere, the LAO is a service arm of the legislature. So, it always tilts toward saying the legislature should have more say and control (and the governor and also the Regents, who are supposed to enjoy constitutional autonomy) should have less. The LAO notes that the multiyear "compact" referred to in the governor's budget message was developed without participation of the legislature. Of course, the legislature ultimately enacts the budget and doesn't have to comply with any compact. Nor can a particular legislature obligate a future legislature to continue a multiyear deal. Here is what the LAO says about university funding: UNIVERSITIES Governor Establishes Multiyear Compacts With the Universities.The Governor’s budget increases ongoing General Fund for the California State University (CSU) and the University of California (UC) by a total of $775 million. Much of the new spending is linked UCLA Faculty Association Blog: First Quarter 2022
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