UC executive salary caps proposed in new bill

By Katy Murphy

SACRAMENTO — As the political backlash over the University of California’s demand for more state funding — and planned tuition increase — continues, yet another bill takes aim at how the research university system spends its money.

The union-sponsored Assembly Bill 837 would cap executive compensation at $500,000, a limit its author claims will save $80 million per year and further the reforms sought by Gov. Jerry Brown.

“Less spending on UC’s bloated executive ranks means more resources will be available for students,” said Assembly member Roger Hernández, D-West Covina. “This bill is directed towards a very small percentage of UC employees that take up a large portion of the UC budget, student funds and taxpayer dollars.”

In 2012, about 300 employees earned more than that amount, according to the UC salary database; Hernandez estimates the number is now higher.

But it’s unclear how many employees would be affected by the bill, as private donations and grants would not be subject to the cap. The lawmaker said he intends to amend the legislation to require UC to provide the sources of employee pay, information not readily available.

UC said Wednesday it had not taken a position on the bill, but spokeswoman Shelly Meron said top UC executives make up less than three percent of the university’s highest earners.

Meron also said state general funds and tuition are used to cover only 23 percent of UC’s payroll; the rest is paid from clinical revenue, federal grants and gifts, among other sources.

Previous attempts to curb executive pay at California’s public universities — in 2011 and 2012 bills sponsored by suspended state Sen. Leland Yee — have gone nowhere, but the political climate has changed. UC has come under much sharper scrutiny since November, when its leaders announced a plan to hike tuition by as much as 28 percent through 2019-20.

The system is undergoing an intensive legislative budget review in which top officials are asked to publicly justify every expense in the university’s budget. Executive compensation is on the list of priorities some lawmakers have questioned.

In a statement Tuesday, Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins called UC’s budget presentations “lackluster,” saying that Californians deserve to hear “what specifically among UC’s $7 billion in existing resources, including overhead, executive compensation, housing, and other perks, UC prioritizes over admitting California students and keeping their tuition at current levels.”

[Source]: San Jose Mercury News