Governor Schwarzenegger has signed SB 1131 into law (Chapter 371/2006). This bill implements provisions of the 2006-07 State Budget pertaining to community colleges. Specifically, SB 1131 provides provisions for allocating one-time funds to the community college system. Read the rest of this entry »
In the second Field Poll taken this year, support for the $10.4 billion school facilities bond (Proposition 1D) continues to remain unchanged, with 48% of voters in support.
Opposition has increased slightly from 34% in May to 37%; 15% remain undecided. The Poll also revealed that those polled remain lukewarm on four of the five infrastructure bond measures that will appear on the November 2006 statewide ballot.
The largest bond, Proposition 1B, which would provide a $19 billion bond for highway safety, traffic reduction, air quality, and port security, received the greatest level of support from voters by a two to one margin (54% to 27%), with 19% undecided.
Voters also support Proposition 1E, the $4.1 billion Flood Protection and Disaster Preparedness bond, by 47% to 33% (20% undecided); however, support has slipped from the 58% it garnered last May.
Proposition 84, the $5.4 billion Water Quality and Flood Control measure placed on the ballot by environmental groups, is also favored by an 18-point margin, 49% yes and 31% no, with 20% still undecided.
Not faring as well is Proposition 1C, the $2.8 billion Housing and Emergency Shelter bond, which has slipped behind, with the “No” vote ahead 42% to 33%, with 25% undecided.
The breakdown in this latest Field Poll shows that Democrats and non-partisan voters support for all but one of the bond proposals (Proposition 1C) by more than a majority, while the Republican support for the bonds only reached as high as 39% (Proposition 1B).
Several recent reports on the California economy appear to confirm that the state’s economy is indeed slowing as many economists have predicted. A report by the Department of Finance (DOF) indicates that, while General Fund revenues for the month of June were just slightly off target (down $59 million or just 0.6% from the forecast), the slowdown in the housing sector is fully evident. Similarly, reports by the Employment Development Department (EDD) show that payroll employment over the last four months grew by an anemic 2,025 jobs per month on average. Read the rest of this entry »
Preliminary figures from the Franchise Tax Board indicate that General Fund revenues for the month of April will far exceed the Administration’s predictions. Indications are that revenues could be as much as $2 billion over the estimated level of collections projected in the January Governor’s Budget. Read the rest of this entry »
It appears that an infrastructure bond deal may move forward as legislative leaders are reported to have reached a compromise. Both parties have signaled shifts in their positions, with Republicans giving up their demand that the bond package include dollars for surface water storage projects and Democrats abandoning their demand that the package include money for urban parks and natural resource protections. Read the rest of this entry »
The Senate Education Committee took action on its “suspense file” on April 27, 2006. The “suspense file” is a process used by the committee to determine the cost implications of a piece of legislation. In general, all bills that have costs in them that exceed $150,000 are referred to the “suspense file.”
The following bills affecting community colleges were acted upon by the committee: Read the rest of this entry »
Assembly Member Mullins (D-S. San Francisco) has introduced AB 2462, which would provide the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) the statutory authority to supply, or contract to supply, fiduciary, recordkeeping, and administrative services for employer-sponsored deferred compensation plans to K-12 schools, community college districts, and county offices of education that elect to contract with CalSTRS to provide those services. Read the rest of this entry »
The Assembly Higher Education Committee, chaired by Assembly Member Carol Liu (D-La Canada Flintridge), took action on 26 bills this past week, most of which pertained to community colleges. The following is a summary of the bills that were considered by the committee: Read the rest of this entry »
The Assembly Budget Subcommittee #2 continued its process of simply listening to the community college budget issues without taking any action. At its meeting on April 19, the Subcommittee reviewed the following budget issues:
• Nursing Enrollment Expansion
• Career Technical Education
• Noncredit Rate Funding
• Equalization Funding Read the rest of this entry »
General Fund revenue collections for March were $905 million above estimates, an unexpected gain of almost 18% over the budgeted level. Of the three major taxes, both the personal income tax and the corporation tax showed significant strength, while the sales and use tax brought in just what was expected. Read the rest of this entry »
