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Our audit of the University of California Office of the President’s budget and staffing processes revealed the following: The Office of the President did not disclose to the University of California Board of Regents, the Legislature, and the public $175 million in budget reserve funds. It spent significantly less than it budgeted for and asked for increases based on its previous years’ over‑estimated budgets rather than its actual expenditures.
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Most Californians are – finally – out of the drought, but the record-setting rains have not washed away emergency conditions for all residents. Gov. Jerry Brown’s April 7 executive order lifted the drought state of emergency for 54 of California’s 58 counties.
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In the state Capitol, there are three types of measures that can be considered by California lawmakers – bills, constitutional amendments and resolutions. All are printed by the Office of State Publishing and are made publicly available –usually by the next day – online and at the Bill Room in the basement of the old section of the state Capitol.
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Pedestrian deaths are on the rise throughout the nation, but California is bucking the trend. Preliminary data by the Governors Highway Safety Organization shows an increase in pedestrian fatalities throughout the United States, rising 12 percent to 5,997 in 2016. Yet California, home to the highest number of pedestrian deaths for years, is finally seeing a drop.
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Calpensions: In another ruling allowing pension cuts, an appeals court last week overturned a state labor board ruling that a voter-approved San Diego pension reform was invalid because the city declined to bargain the issue with labor unions.
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It’s a common story. California high school graduates with top grades and scores still aren’t able to get into the University of California campus of their choice. Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, says he hears that complaint from constituents “all the time – at Trader Joe’s, at soccer fields and walking down the street.”
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California’s farmers are getting nervous — understandably. The Trump administration wants to slash the budget of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, cutting one out of every five dollars of the department’s discretionary spending.
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In recent legislative history, 2014 was an unusually rough year for the state Senate. Sen. Rod Wright was on trial for voter fraud and perjury, and Senators Ron Calderon and Leland Yee had been indicted by federal authorities on corruption charges. But don’t forget 1988.
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Gale Kaufman was campaigning in California before Arnold Schwarzenegger was Conan the Barbarian. Kaufman, a bare-knuckled Democratic strategist, is as little known to the public as she is famous among political pros. When talk in the political world turns to “Gale,” everyone knows it’s a reference to Kaufman.
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This is the final installment in a series of articles dealing with the procedural myths and realities of the California Legislature.
UC Berkeley students at Sather Gate. (Photo: Rightdx, via Shutterstock)
