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Friday, June 28, 2024

Is there a compact?

Yours truly looked at the basic budget bill SB 108 passed yesterday and sent to the governor. (There are several bills that are part of the budget process.) Comparing the basic allocation in that bill with what the governor proposed in his May Revise indicates that the legislature provided a 5%-ish increase for UC to just under $4.9 billion. 

So there is a paradox. The multiyear UC compact with the governor provided a basic 5% increase - which the governor proposed to eliminate. But it is the legislature - with which there is no compact - that ultimately provided the increment.

In summary, the governor felt free to violate his own deal. The legislature imposed it back on him. Of course, he could use his line-item veto in theory to reduce the increment, but that seems unlikely since in recent years the governor and the Democratic leaders make a deal which is then signed unchanged.

So, is there a compact if the governor feels free to change it whenever dark budget clouds appear? Just asking...

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