Copyright© 1999 by School Services of California, Inc.

July 9, 1999

Governor Closes Out 1999 State Budget Act
By Signing Trailer Bills

Eight days after signing the 1999 State Budget Act, Governor Davis completed the annual budget process by signing numerous "trailer bills" that will implement the provisions of the State Budget. Budget trailer bills contain language that implement policy and provide additional funding not included in the Budget.

The main trailer bill to implement provisions relating to K-12 and higher education is AB 1115 by Assembly Member Virginia Strom-Martin (D-Duncans Mills). This Omnibus Education Trailer Bill makes various changes to the K-14 statutes that were agreed upon by the Legislature and in some cases the Governor. The Governor does not always agree on funding provisions that are included in trailer bills and as a result some items contained in the bill are blue penciled by the Governor.

The major budget provision included in AB 1115 for community colleges was one-time funding of $10 million, to be allocated to community college districts for the purpose of one-time expenditures on high priority projects for instructional equipment, library materials, replacement, technology, scheduled maintenance, and special repairs. These funds are allocated on an average amount per actual statewide full-time equivalent student enrollment (FTES) reported for the 1998-99 fiscal year.

AB 1115 also provided funding in the amount of $500,000 for the proposed new Copper Mountain Community College District to augment $1 million funded in the main Budget bill.

Items in the trailer bill that were "blue penciled" by the Governor include:

• $790,000 for allocation on a one-time basis to the College of the Sequoias.
  
• $500,000 for allocation on a one-time basis to Los Angeles Valley College for a media arts center.
  
• $1 million to the College of the Desert, associated with transition cost related to Copper Mountain College.
  
• $50,000 for allocation on a one-time basis to Mission College for a baseball field.
  
• $180,000 for a one-time allocation to Merced College for video conferencing technology.
  
• $300,000 for allocation on a one-time basis to community college districts for voter registration pursuant to the enactment of pending legislation in 1999-00.

The Governor's veto message indicated that he reduced the voter registration allocation of $300,000 because it does not appear necessary to provide funding for an activity that could be undertaken by campus groups or other civic organizations. With regard to the other deleted projects the Governor indicated that although they may be meritorious, he was deleting the funding for them to ensure the state maintains a prudent reserve. This message is another way of saying that these projects did not have enough legislative support or the Governor simply did not like them.

-- Arnold Bray