January 5: In a press conference this afternoon, Gov. Jerry Brown outlined his proposed 2012-13 budget, which calls for no change from this year’s level of state support of the CSU, provided that his tax initiative slated for the November ballot is passed by voters.
The proposed $2 billion in state support for the CSU is the lowest in 15 years and reflects the continuation of a $750 million reduction in funding made in 2011-2012.
The governor estimates that the state faces a $9.2 billion general fund deficit through June 2013, which he proposes to bridge with mostly cuts and taxes. He’ll ask voters to pass a $6.9 billion ballot measure in November that raises taxes on sales and income, starting with single filers earning $250,000 per year.
If the measure is not approved by voters, the Governor’s budget proposal includes a series of trigger cuts that would go into effect, including an additional $200 million cut to the CSU. That would bring CSU's state support to $1.8 billion, which would be the lowest level of state funding since 1996-97, even though CSU enrolls 95,000 more students today.
The flat numbers come despite a commitment to stable funding for the CSU, UC and community college systems in the budget proposal, which states, “The state will increase its General Fund contribution to each institution’s prior year base by a minimum of four percent per year from 2013-14 through 2015-16, contingent upon the passage of the governor’s tax initiative.”
During the wide-ranging press conference, the governor emphasized his support for the state’s higher education systems, saying, “I really don’t like to see cuts to universities, and I don’t want to see more tuition hikes.”
He added, “With our tax program, we’ll finally eliminate the budget deficit after years of kicking the can down the road. If we don’t get our tax revenues, trigger cuts will hit the courts, the universities, and the state’s public safety services. The good news is that California is recovering, and the fiscal health of the state is improving.”
Read a summary of the budget’s higher education section (PDF).
Read the full budget summary (PDF).