Senate Constitutional Amendment No. 1

Introduced by Senators Lara and Cannella

(Coauthor: Senator Anderson)

December 4, 2014

Senate Constitutional Amendment No. 1—A resolution to propose to the people of the State of California an amendment to the Constitution of the State, by amending, repealing, and adding Section 9 of Article IX thereof, relating to the University of California.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SCA 1, as introduced, Lara. University of California: legislative control.

Existing provisions of the California Constitution provide that the University of California constitutes a public trust, and require the university to be administered by the Regents of the University of California, a corporation in the form of a board, with full powers of organization and government, subject to legislative control only for specified purposes. These provisions require that corporation to have all powers necessary or convenient for the effective administration of its trust.

This measure would repeal on January 1, 2017, the constitutional provisions relating to the university and the regents, and would require the university and the regents to be continued in existence subject to legislative control as may be provided by statute. The measure would require the Legislature to enact legislation to implement these provisions, but would prohibit the Legislature from enacting any law that restrains academic freedom, as defined, or imposes educational or curricular requirements on students enrolled at the University of California. The measure would also require the University of California to focus its recruitment efforts on the enrollment of California residents as students of the university.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

Resolved by the Senate, the Assembly concurring, That the
Legislature of the State of California at its 2015-16 Regular
Session commencing on the first day of December 2014, two-thirds
of the membership of each house concurring, hereby proposes to
the people of the State of California, that the Constitution of the
State be amended as follows:

First--  

That Section 9 of Article IX thereof is amended to read:

SEC. 9.  

(a) The University of California shall constitute a
public trust, to be administered by the existing corporation known
as “The Regents of the University of California,” with full powers
of organization and government, subject only to begin delete such end delete begin insert that end insert
legislative control as may be necessary to begin delete insure end delete begin insert ensure end insert the security
of its funds and compliance with the terms of the endowments of
the university and begin delete such end delete competitive bidding procedures as may be
made applicable to the university by statute for the letting of
construction contracts, sales of real property, and purchasing of
materials, goods, and services. begin delete Said end delete begin insert The end insert corporation shall be in
form a board composed of seven ex officio members, which shall
be: the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the
Assembly, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the president
and the vice president of the alumni association of the university begin insert , end insert
and the acting president of the university, and 18 appointive
members appointed by the Governor and approved by the Senate,
a majority of the membership concurring begin delete ; provided, however that
the present appointive members shall hold office until the
expiration of their present terms end delete .

(b) The terms of the members appointed prior to November 5,
1974, shall be 16 years; the terms of two appointive members to
expire as heretofore on March begin delete 1st end delete begin insert 1 end insert of every even-numbered
calendar year, and two members shall be appointed for terms
commencing on March 1, 1976, and on March 1 of each year
thereafter; provided that no such appointments shall be made for
terms to commence on March 1, 1979, or on March 1 of each
fourth year thereafter, to the end that no appointment to the regents
for a newly commencing term shall be made during the first year
of any gubernatorial term of office. The terms of the members
appointed for terms commencing on and after March 1, 1976, shall
be 12 years. begin delete During the period of transition until the time when
the appointive membership is comprised exclusively of persons
serving for terms of 12 years, the total number of appointive
members may exceed the numbers specified in the preceeding
paragraph. end delete

In case of any vacancy, the term of office of the appointee to fill
such vacancy, who shall be appointed by the Governor and
approved by the Senate, a majority of the membership concurring,
shall be for the balance of the term for which begin delete such end delete begin insert that end insert vacancy
exists.

(c) The members of the board may, in their discretion, following
procedures established by them and after consultation with
representatives of faculty and students of the university, including
appropriate officers of the academic senate and student
governments, appoint to the board either or both of the following
persons as members with all rights of participation: a member of
the faculty at a campus of the university or of another institution
of higher education; a person enrolled as a student at a campus of
the university for each regular academic term during his begin insert or her end insert
service as a member of the board. Any person so appointed shall
serve for not less than one year commencing on July 1.

(d) Regents shall be able persons broadly reflective of the
economic, cultural, and social diversity of the State, including
ethnic minorities and women. However, it is not intended that
formulas or specific ratios be applied in the selection of regents.

(e) In the selection of the begin delete Regents end delete begin insert regents end insert , the Governor shall
consult an advisory committee composed as follows: The Speaker
of the Assembly and two public members appointed by the
Speaker, the President begin delete Pro end delete begin insert pro end insert Tempore of the Senate and two
public members appointed by begin delete the Rules Committee of end delete the Senate
begin insert Committee on Rules end insert , two public members appointed by the
Governor, the begin delete chairman end delete begin insert chairperson end insert of the regents of the
university, an alumnus of the university chosen by the alumni
association of the university, a student of the university chosen by
the Council of Student Body Presidents, and a member of the
faculty of the university chosen by the academic senate of the
university. Public members shall serve for four years, except that
one each of the initially appointed members selected by the Speaker
of the Assembly, the President begin delete Pro end delete begin insert pro end insert Tempore of the Senate,
and the Governor shall be appointed to serve for two years; student,
alumni, and faculty members shall serve for one year and may not
be regents of the university at the time of their service on the
advisory committee.

(f) The Regents of the University of California shall be vested
with the legal title and the management and disposition of the
property of the university and of property held for its benefit begin insert , end insert and
shall have the power to take and hold, either by purchase or by
donation, or gift, testamentary or otherwise, or in any other manner,
without restriction, all real and personal property for the benefit
of the university or incidentally to its conduct begin delete ; provided, however, end delete
begin delete that end delete begin insert . However, end insert sales of university real property shall be subject to
begin delete such end delete competitive bidding procedures begin delete as end delete begin insert that end insert may be provided by
statute. begin delete Said end delete begin insert The end insert corporation shall also have all the powers
necessary or convenient for the effective administration of its trust,
including the power to sue and to be sued, to use a seal, and to
delegate to its committees or to the faculty of the university, or to
others, begin delete such end delete begin insert the end insert authority or functions as it may deem wise. The
begin delete Regents end delete begin insert regents end insert shall receive all funds derived from the sale of
lands pursuant to the act of Congress of July 2, 1862, and any
subsequent acts amendatory thereof. The university shall be entirely
independent of all political or sectarian influence and kept free
therefrom in the appointment of its regents and in the
administration of its affairs, and no person shall be debarred
admission to any department of the university on account of race,
religion, ethnic heritage, or sex.

(g) Meetings of the Regents of the University of California shall
be public, with exceptions and notice requirements as may be
provided by statute.

begin insert

(h) This section shall become inoperative on January 1, 2017,
and as of that date is repealed.

end insert

Second--  

That Section 9 is added to Article IX thereof, to
read:

SEC. 9.  

(a) The University of California is hereby continued
in existence in the state government, and is subject to legislative
control as may be provided by statute.

(b) The University of California shall be administered by the
existing corporation known as “The Regents of the University of
California,” which is hereby continued in existence in the state
government, and is subject to legislative control as may be provided
by statute.

(c)  (1) The Legislature shall enact legislation to implement
this section.

(2) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), or any other
provision of this Constitution, the Legislature shall not enact any
law that restrains academic freedom within the University of
California or imposes educational or curricular requirements on
students enrolled at the University of California.

(3) As used in this subdivision, “academic freedom” means the
freedom to discuss all relevant matters in the classroom, to explore
all avenues of scholarship, research, and creative expression, and
to speak or write without institutional discipline or restraint on
matters of public concern as well as matters related to professional
duties of faculty and staff and the functioning of the university.

(d) The University of California shall focus its recruitment
efforts on the enrollment of California residents as students of the
university.

(e) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2017.