What Does Crane's Proposed Grand Bargain Mean for UC?

Regent-designate David Crane – a late appointment by Gov. Schwarzenegger who has yet to be confirmed (or not) by the state senate – has pushed various versions of pension reform.

In an op ed today in the Sacramento Bee, he seems to be appealing to the current governor. Whether that will carry any weight in the state senate is not clear. Basically, he wants a “Grand Bargain” on a corporate tax change – which Gov. Brown has pushed – in exchange for pension reform.

Crane says nothing specifically about the UC pension, however. Is he just talking about CalPERS and CalSTRS in his op ed? Or does he now accept the Regents’ pension changes made last December? We have yet to hear.

Excerpt from the op ed:

Recently Gov. Jerry Brown rightfully proposed a change to California's corporate tax that would boost both job prospects and state revenue. That's right, a tax increase that would also be good for in-state jobs. In brief, the change would make the "single-sales-factor" method of corporate taxation, enacted into law in 2009, mandatory instead of elective. Unfortunately Republican legislators have already thrown cold water on Brown's proposal, presumably because it would violate an ideological stand against tax increases. But there's a more productive path available to them that would be good for both budgets and jobs: demand real pension reform in exchange for the tax increase.

Full op ed at: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/04/3881582/a-grand-bargain-tax-hike-pension.html