For years, if you were a California resident attending UC Berkeley's law or business schools you got an in-state tuition break as compared with the amount paid by out-of-state students. But that break is almost gone.
From the Chronicle's Nanette Asimov:"University records also show that the number of Californians at the prestigious UC Berkeley Law School and Haas School of Business has fallen sharply over the last decade, while out-of-state enrollments have soared."
"The disappearing in-state tuition break and the rise in nonresident enrollment raise questions about whether the University of California is treating California students fairly. Many say the university is wrong to charge Californians, who pay taxes that support UC and its professional schools, nearly as much as out-of-state students."
"Tuition and mandatory fees more than doubled for California residents at Berkeley Law and at Haas since fall 2005. Then, the annual price for both was about $24,000. Now it’s more than $52,000 a year for the law school and nearly $58,000 for Haas, The Chronicle’s analysis shows."
Speaking of tuition, CSU and UC see two years of increases coming after the expiration of a budget deal with the governor.
From the Bee's Alexei Koseff: "The University of California and California State University are now looking beyond the end of their budget deal with Gov. Jerry Brown, which will hold costs flat through next summer. UC has tentatively proposed at least two years of increases beginning in the 2017-18 academic year, and CSU launched a discussion about the future of its financial stability last week at a meeting of its governing board."
"The conversations sound a bit different this time around: With state funding on the upswing, the systems are looking to get out in front of the next crisis. Both appear to be embracing the idea of smaller annual fee hikes tied to inflation, an approach long recommended by the state’s nonpartisan fiscal analyst."
“Our goal is not to increase tuition. It’s to have a more planned road map for tuition,” said Steve Relyea, executive vice chancellor and chief financial officer for CSU. “Can we even out these spikes and have regular, smaller increases that keep the university affordable but give students and their families the ability to plan ahead of time?”
Facing a deadline, lawmakers reportedly are coming together on a plan to levy a hefty new tax on health insurers.
From the Mercury's Jessica Calefati and Tracy Seipel: "After months of uncertainty, the Legislature appears poised to approve a tax on health care plans that would generate $1.27 billion annually and could substantially boost funding for developmentally disabled Californians for the first time in more than a decade."
"If lawmakers approve the tax in a series of votes scheduled for this week, it would replace an existing tax on health care plans that brings in about $270 million less and is set to expire in July because it doesn't comply with new Obama administration rules dictating how states may levy those types of taxes."
"Momentum has been building since Gov. Jerry Brown unveiled the tax proposal early last month, and in recent days it won crucial endorsements from several leading insurers and health plans. Even tax-averse Republican lawmakers had some nice things to say about the proposal during committee meetings last week."
Meanwhile, speaking of Brown, prosecutors are going to court to block Gov. Brown's ballot-driven efforts to change sentencing rules.
From KQED's Scott Shafer: "The California District Attorneys Association (CDAA) and Sacramento DA Anne Marie Schubert are asking state Attorney General Kamala Harris to hold off on issuing a title and summary to the criminal sentencing reform ballot measure Gov. Jerry Brown announced recently."
"In a filing with Superior Court in Sacramento, the CDAA claims Brown “cut in line” ahead of five other initiatives by taking a ballot measure filed Dec. 22, 2015 and basically doing a “gut-and-amend” with a “complete rewrite.” That, they say, circumvented the public input process, leaving the legislative analyst and the attorney general inadequate time to review and assess the measure."
"In a written statement from his office, Brown said, “It’s perplexing why these DA’s would deny the people of California their right to vote on this important public safety measure.”
Speaking of sentencing, state experts say the governor has been underestimating the savings from the voter-approved Proposition 47, which eased penalties for some crimes.
From the AP: "California's nonpartisan legislative analyst says Gov. Jerry Brown is undercounting the savings from a voter-approved measure that cut penalties for drug and property crimes."
"The budget Brown proposed last month provides $29.3 million in funding for community rehabilitation programs from Proposition 47."
"Friday's legislative analysis says that may be $100 million too low."
And from our "Surf's Up" file comes the tale of a gang of surfers who have taken over a great stretch of public beach and are intimidating anybody else who tries to enjoy the waves.
"The so-called Bay Boys bombard outsiders with dirt clods, slash their car tires and assault them in the water — sometimes coordinating the attacks with walkie talkies — witnesses have said."
"Surfers who say they have been victimized over the years have accused local authorities of complacency, cowardice and even complicity."
"Now an unlikely new sheriff of sorts has ridden into town: the California Coastal Commission..."
"I don't think we've ever seen this level of cooperation on this issue," said Andrew Willis, the commission's top enforcement agent in Southern California."
Cowabunga ...
