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Budget Cuts Loom-Which Way to the May Revise?

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Current estimates of the state budget gap for 2011-12 are pegged at 25.4 million dollars. On January 10th Governor Brown proposed a budget that aims to close this gap by cutting spending 47% and increasing revenue by 46%. 

At the beginning of March 2011, Governor Brown hopes to have approval for his budget by the Assembly and the Senate. He needs to get legislators onboard so that part of his budget plan, the part that calls for voter approved tax extensions, can go before the voters in June.

As has been said, there is much to dislike in this budget. While it appears to be the most realistic state budget in many years, and the Governor is pulling no punches in calling for pain all around, he has left K-12 largely untouched. Yet, the proposed budget includes a 1.4 billion dollar cut to higher education. This breaks out to $500 million each to the University of California and the California State University systems, and $400 million to the community colleges. Specific details on the proposed cuts to higher education can be found here:

http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/pdf/BudgetSummary/HigherEducation.pdf.

There are a number of aspects of the Governor’s proposed budget that may not survive. These include his proposed elimination of redevelopment agencies, funding shifts for many programs from state to local government, and a host of others.  However, it is clear that with many states in the same budget boat as California, the state of the economy and California’s long term budget charade, we need to have a realistic state budget.

Another factor that will come into play in April is the release of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee’s audit of the University of California. This audit, which was proposed by then Assembly member Leland Yee, at the the behest of the UC Union Coalition, is being conducted by the California State Auditor.  It examines how the UC Office of the President (UCOP) handles public monies.  We expect that this report will not be favorable to UCOP and that this will impact any attempts to get a reduction in the proposed $500 million cut to UC’s budget.  

The full audit charge can be found here:   http://www.bsa.ca.gov/pdfs/analyses/2010-105.pdf

The next major event in the budget journey will be the May Revise. This will bring into play more accurate data, especially with regard to projected revenue. With 2011 forecast to be worse than 2010 for foreclosures , revenue estimates, especially in the area of property tax, will be revised downward. Of course, other revenues will also be affected.  The bottom line is that while this is the most realistic budget in recent memory, it will likely get worse.

The Governor has proposed working with the stakeholders within  UC, along with the CSU and CC systems, to minimize the impact of these cuts.  UC-AFT is working with other unions (UPTE, AFSCME, CNA and UAW) and State Senators Yee and Vargas to develop a plan to reduce the overall cuts to UC.   

 Click here to read UC-AFT's proposal on the UC Budget which employs a strategy to mitigate budget cuts and minimize the need for future fee increases and cuts to UC's core mission.