BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
AB 2324 (Williams) - Trustees of the California State
University: Faculty Member
Amended: June 4, 2014 Policy Vote: Education 6-1
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: June 30, 2014
Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-Hernandez
This bill may meet the criteria for referral to the Suspense
File.
Bill Summary: AB 2324 provides that when the two-year term of
office on the California State University (CSU) Board of
Trustees ends for the appointed faculty member, and the Governor
has not appointed a successor member, as specified, the faculty
member may remain in office after the term expires for one
additional year, or until a successor is appointed by the
Governor, whichever occurs first.
Fiscal Impact: Potentially significant forgone savings to the
CSU, up to $118,000 (General Fund) in salary costs and up to
tens of thousands of dollars in benefits, in any fiscal year in
which the faculty member's term expires, and the Governor has
not yet appointed a successor.
Background: Existing law establishes the CSU Board of Trustees,
comprised of 25 members, as follows:
1) Five (5) ex-officio members: (a) the Governor, (b) the
Lieutenant Governor, (c) Speaker of the Assembly, (d) the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, and (e) the
Chancellor of the CSU.
2) Sixteen (16) Governor appointees confirmed by two-thirds
of the Senate, each serving an eight-year term.
3) One (1) alumni association representative, who cannot be
an employee of the CSU, appointed by the Governor serving a
two-year term.
4) One (1) tenured CSU faculty representative appointed by
the Governor, for a two-year term, from a list of names of
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at least two persons furnished by the CSU Academic Senate
to serve a two-year term which commences on July 1 and
expires on June 30 two years thereafter.
5) Two (2) CSU students appointed by the Governor for
staggered two-year terms from a list of nominees furnished
by the governing board of any statewide student
organization that represents CSU students and the student
body organizations of the CSU campuses. These student
trustees serve staggered two-year terms. One has full
voting powers; the second, non-voting student trustee
succeeds to the voting position upon the expiration of the
term of the first. The terms commence on July 1, every
other year, and expire on June 30 two years thereafter.
Only one student is eligible to vote at any time.
Proposed Law: This bill provides that when the two-year term of
office on the CSU Board of Trustees ends for the appointed
faculty member, and the Governor has not appointed a successor
member, as specified, the faculty member may remain in office
after the term expires for one additional year, or until a
successor is appointed by the Governor, whichever occurs first.
Staff Comments: When a faculty member of a particular CSU campus
serves a two-year term on the CSU Board of Trustees, the CSU
"buys out" that faculty member's salary. The campus can then
staff appropriately to provide courses that would have otherwise
been taught by that faculty member.
Under existing law, when the CSU Board of Trustees faculty
member's term expires, and the Governor has not yet appointed a
successor, the seat remains vacant until the appointment is
made. During that time, there are salary savings to the CSU.
Tenured CSU professors' salaries vary, but the average full
professor salary for a 12-month employee is $118,069. As a point
of reference, if this bill allowed a faculty member paid at this
level to continue serving for 6 additional months, the CSU would
forego salary savings of approximately $59,000 (General Fund)
plus the cost of buying out the facult member's benefits.
Staff notes, however, that these costs would only be incurred in
years during which the Governor has not appointed a new faculty
member to serve on the Board of Trustees, as intended in
statute, and only for the amount of time the appointment is
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delayed up to one year.