BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2721
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2721 (Pan)
As Amended April 8, 2014
Majority vote
HIGHER EDUCATION 13-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Williams, Ch�vez, Bloom, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, |
| |Fong, Fox, Jones-Sawyer, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Levine, Achadjian, | |Calderon, Campos, |
| |Medina, Olsen, | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, |
| |Quirk-Silva, Weber, Wilk | |Holden, Jones, Linder, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, |
| | | |Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Adds a nonfaculty employee to the California State
University (CSU) Board of Trustees (BOT). Specifically, this
bill :
1)Adds to the CSU BOT a nonfaculty employee of the CSU covered by
the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA),
appointed by the Governor to serve a two-year term.
2)Requires a nonfaculty employee committee consisting of one
representative from each of the employee organizations to
provide the Governor a list of at least two nominees for the
appointment, with all nominees having received a majority vote
of the representatives of the committee.
3)Requires the employee organizations of nonfaculty employees to
fund the aforementioned selection committee.
4)Prohibits the nonfaculty employee BOT member from participating
on any subcommittee of the board responsible for collective
bargaining negotiations.
5)Provides that the term of office for the nonfaculty employee
shall commence on July 1 and shall expire on June 30 two years
thereafter.
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EXISTING LAW establishes the CSU to be administered by the BOT,
which consists of:
1)Five ex officio members: the Governor, Lieutenant Governor,
Speaker of the Assembly, State Superintendent of Public
Instruction, and the Chancellor;
2)An Alumni Trustee appointed by the CSU Statewide Alumni Council
to serve for a two-year term, which expires at the end of the
two years;
3)A Faculty Trustee appointed by the Governor from a list of
nominees proposed by the Statewide Academic Senate to serve a
two-year term which commences on July 1 and expires on June 30
two years thereafter;
4)Two student trustees appointed by the Governor from a list of
nominees proposed by the California State Student Association.
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;
5)Sixteen remaining trustees are appointed by the Governor,
confirmed by two-thirds of the California State Senate, and
serve eight year terms. Trustees confirmed by the senate remain
on the board until a replacement is named or 60 days after their
term expires whichever comes first.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, travel and per diem costs for the trustee to attend BOT
meetings six times a year in Long Beach, as well as a number of
unknown other events such as attending commencements,
inaugurations, presidential searches and other meetings and campus
events would depend to some extent on where the new trustee
resides, but could be up to $20,000 annually. There would be
additional costs to the extent CSU buys out all or a portion of
the represented staff member's time related to fulfilling their
trustee responsibilities.
COMMENTS :
Purpose of this bill. According to the author, "Every segment of
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the university has a voice on the BOT: faculty, administration,
students - even alumni - but not classified employees. Classified
employees help keep CSU campuses operating; ensuring campuses are
clean and safe; provide classroom, financial aid and other support
services; and provide a supportive learning environment." The
author argues this bill will ensure a voice on the BOT to
"represent over 20,000 employees at 23 CSU campuses and the Office
of the Chancellor."
Union representation. Collective bargaining creates a process for
employees to negotiate with management; in the CSU, the BOT
approves contracts. By placing a nonfaculty member selected from
a list furnished by classified employee unions this bill may
create a possible conflict of interest. As the author notes, the
CSU BOT currently includes a tenured faculty member. However, it
should be noted that the Governor's appointment of the faculty BOT
member is from a list furnished by the Academic Senate of the CSU,
and not the union that represents faculty at the bargaining table.
Precedent for direct union representation. SB 644 (Burton),
Chapters 860 Statutes of 2003 designated one of the 13
gubernatorial appointments to the California Community Colleges
Board of Trustees as a classified employee, with the appointment
made from a list of at least three persons furnished by the
exclusive representatives of classified employees of the CCC.
Prior legislation. SB 1515 (Yee) of 2012, would have provided for
several changes to the composition of the BOT, including requiring
representation from a nonfaculty employee. SB 1515 was held in
the Senate Appropriations Committee. AB 2849 (Lowenthal) of 2004.
would have added one nonfaculty member of CSU. AB 2849 was vetoed
by Governor Schwarzenegger. AB 307 (Pavley) of 2001, and SB 1604
(O'Connell) of 2000, were identical to this bill. AB 307 was
subsequently amended to address a different subject matter. SB
1604 was approved by the Legislature but subsequently withdrawn
from enrollment and held at the Senate Desk.
Analysis Prepared by : Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960 FN: 0003614
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