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BUDGET BREAKDOWN State spending by program SOURCE: Legislative Analyst Office Original graphic by TIMOTHY NGO/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Web adaptation by CHRISTINE TAN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff

By Timothy Kudo and Kelly Rayburn

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Gov. Gray Davis signed the state budget July 26, giving a 5-percent increase in funds to the University of California despite a 1.7-percent decrease in the overall budget caused by a slowing economy.

The economy has been adversely affected by the folding of many dot-com businesses and the energy crisis, leading to cuts in intermediate versions of the budget as well as the final draft in which Davis sliced more than $500 million through line-item vetoes.

While certain areas of the state budget received funding decreases in excess of 30 percent, UC officials said what the university received was good considering the financial situation the state is in.

But even with the increase for the university, the budget failed to provide funding increases in certain programs, UC spokesman Brad Hayward said.

By failing to provide such funds, the state broke a partnership between itself and the UC in which the state guaranteed the university funding in return for ensured enrollment growth, passage of the “4 percent plan” and improved transfer rates, among other agreements, Hayward said.

The budget includes:

• Funding for the state to ensure resident student fees do not increase.

• Funding for three institutes of science and innovation, including a nanotechnology research center at UCLA.

• $2 million less than the university’s request of $338.5 million for outreach.

• Funding for 4.5 percent enrollment growth.

• A cut of $5 million the university requested for student services.

Also, the budget, signed 26 days late due to legislative hold-ups, failed to provide the UC with a 1-percent increase for building and information technology upgrades, which is called for in the partnership.

Also vetoed was $2.5 million the UC requested for community college counseling as part of the “dual admissions” proposal. A 4-percent increase for staff compensation ended up being cut in half as well.

The dual admissions plan guarantees admission to a UC campus to the top 12.5 percent of graduating students at each high school if they complete certain requirements at a community college first.

UC officials said they are working with assemblyman and budget committee chair Tony Cardenas, D-Sylmar, to get $2.5 million for dual admissions counseling through legislation.

The governor sliced $2 million from the university’s outreach budget but left it to the UC to determine which outreach programs would lose the money, UC Student Association Chair Debbie Davis said.

In conversations with UC officials and legislators, Debbie said it was made clear that up to $1 million would be cut from previously proposed increases in the student initiated outreach programs.

Those programs are currently funded at about $80,000 systemwide, she said.

“This was a significant pot of money,” Debbie said.

Student Regent Tracy Davis said she didn’t think the cuts would come in that area.

“I have not heard anything about that,” she said.

The governor signed his first late budget after it spent nearly three weeks going through the assembly and senate. The budget process was slowed in large part by debate over a sales tax increase, which could begin in January and was opposed by many assembly Republicans.

Assembly Democrats offered tax breaks to farmers and senior citizens to garner enough Republican votes for the needed two-thirds approval.

Republican leaders charged that Davis used the line-item veto to reward certain legislators by leaving in programs of local interest to them, while making big cuts in important programs, including education.

“It’s a shame that pork projects and the expansion of welfare were more important to Gray Davis than education,” said Assembly Republican leader Dave Cox, R-Sacramento, in a statement.

But the governor said California’s school children were the budget’s “big winners.”

“Even in a softening economy, I wanted to maintain a strong commitment to education,” Davis said in front of students at Mack Elementary school in Sacramento after he signed the budget.

Many democratic assemblymembers applauded Davis’ signing.

Scott Svonkin, chief of staff for Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, said Koretz was pleased with the budget, given California’s economic situation.

Koretz represents the district which includes UCLA.

“The only thing that would have been better is if the energy crisis had never happened,” Svonkin said.

With Daily Bruin wire reports.

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