Bill to establish UC compensation cap at $500K passes

By Enterprise staff

A bill to cap the gross salaries of all University of California employees at $500,000 while enhancing transparency and public reporting of UC compensation is advancing through the Legislature.

AB 837, authored by Assemblyman Roger Hernández, D-West Covina, was approved Tuesday by the Assembly Committee on Higher Education, with bipartisan support.

“Less spending on UC’s bloated executive ranks means more resources will be available for students,” Hernández said in a news release. “This bill is directed toward a very small percentage of UC employees that take up a large portion of the UC budget, student funds and taxpayer dollars.”

Added Kathryn Lybarger, president of AFSCME 3299, “By addressing one of the biggest cost drivers at the UC, this legislation answers the governor’s call for reform, produces real savings that can help avert tuition hikes and restores a central tenet of UC’s mission — public service.”

According to AFSCME’s research into the university’s budget, total UC spending increased 40 percent between 2007 and 2013. While tuition increased and front-line staff endured substantial cuts during the same period, spending on salaries for UC’s richest employees more than tripled, from $67 million to $270 million, the union says.

AB 837 caps cash compensation for all UC employees at $500,000 per year, which would generate a savings of $80 million annually, Hernández says.

[Source]: The Davis Enterprise