This too shall pass...

In order for the Legislature to pass a "budget" by June 15 - the constitutional deadline, it actually had to have something available to pass yesterday, June 12, to meet legislative rules. Something was made available which you can find at:

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB109.

If you go to the above link, you will find endless language appropriating funds for various purposes. To see the UC portion, search for "6440-001-0001" and keep scrolling down. (There are also scattered other references to UC elsewhere in the budget.) Once the legislature has passed the budget bill - probably along with associated "trailer bills" that relate to the budget, it has done its constitutional duty. The governor, however, could in principle remove items using his line-item veto. But in today's world of one-party rule, it is more likely that further discussion will occur between the Democratic leaders and the governor with further adjustments to the budget forthcoming before July 1.

Transfers

Given restrictions on anything resembling affirmative action stemming from the state's Prop 209 and pressure from the feds, other admissions devices that provide diversity are being explored. One is through transfers from community colleges. The various community colleges have a diverse enrollment that can vary by location.

From the Bruin: A program that will give some transfer students priority consideration for admission to UCLA is set to be implemented this fall. UCLA created the Associate Degree for Transfer Pilot Program in compliance with Assembly Bill 1291, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed in October 2023. The pilot program will be available to students who achieve an associate degree in certain majors at one of 10 California Community Colleges, including Cypress College and Oxnard College.

...The pilot program could increase diversity and the population of first-generation students at UCLA... Students must receive an associate degree in one of eight selected majors – anthropology, chemistry, environmental science, geology, mathematics, history, political science and philosophy – to participate in the program... UCLA selected the 10 campuses to partner with – all located within Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Ventura and Kern counties – based on location and student enrollment...

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2026/06/07/ucla-pilot-program-to-expand-opportunities-for-community-college-transfers.

Straws in the Wind - Part 371

From Inside Higher Ed: Kentucky State University projects its enrollment will drop by about 20 percent by next spring, partly due to a new state law that forces the institution to disenroll students who owe the university money, a spokesperson says. “The projected enrollment drop includes a number of factors, of which the financial components of SB [Senate Bill] 185 are significant,” said Michael Strysick, the university’s chief strategic communications officer.

He said total in-person and online student enrollment in the spring, including dual enrollment high school students, was 2,873, but the university estimates that will decline to 2,300 by next spring... SB 185—which the GOP-controlled General Assembly passed and Democratic governor Andy Beshear signed into law in April—gives the state significant financial control of the historically Black university. Among many other things, it says students who owe the university $1,000 or more for over 60 days will be disenrolled...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2026/06/11/kentucky-state-projects-enrollment-plunge-after-new-law.

Still Ahead

The latest cash report from the state controller for May 2026 (11/12ths of the current fiscal year), shows receipts modestly ahead of projections made at the time the governor's May Revision was presented. They are way ahead of the projections made almost a year ago when the current state budget was adopted, well over $25 billion ahead. The income tax is mainly the source of the overage, presumably due to capital gains on AI-related stocks.

All of this news is background to the ongoing legislative efforts to pass a budget. Because of various rules regarding legislation enactment, the legislature needs to adopt something called a budget today to meet the constitutional requirement of enacting a budget by June 15.

You can find the last cash report at:

https://www.sco.ca.gov/Files-ARD/CASH/May2026StatementofGeneralFundCashReceiptsandDisbursements.pdf.

Straws in the Wind - Part 370

From Inside Higher Ed: Louisiana higher ed systems say their institutions are posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms, following orders from Republican lawmakers. A Louisiana State University System spokesperson said in an email to Inside Higher Ed that all LSU campuses have either put up the displays or are in the process of doing so. A University of Louisiana System spokesperson said in an email that all of its campuses “are actively working through installation logistics” and “intend to have them displayed no later than the start of the fall semester.” Southern University System and Louisiana Community and Technical College System officials didn’t return requests for comment.

The Louisiana Family Forum, a conservative “family policy council,” donated the posters, The Louisiana Illuminator reported earlier. Republican state attorney general Liz Murrill released four posters that can be used—all with the Ten Commandments in the middle, flanked by other information. One, for instance, is titled “The House of Representatives & the Lawgivers,” in which the religious text has, on its left, an image of the “Moses the Lawgiver” marble relief from the walls of the U.S. House chamber and, on its right, a photo of current U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2026/06/09/following-law-la-colleges-post-ten-commandments-classes.

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We don't know what happened to the other five:

Or direct to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8ihcq4hzR4.

Assembly Meeting Today

There is a meeting of the Academic Senate's systemwide Assembly today via Zoom. Any Senate member can attend, although only Assembly members can vote. Information on how to attend is at:

https://senate.universityofcalifornia.edu/_files/assembly/assembly-agenda-06-11-26.pdf.

The meeting does not seem to have especially controversial items on the agenda. There is, however, a report from BOARS. As blog readers will know, STEM faculty have signed a letter asking for a reinstitution of the SAT requirement for undergrad admissions of STEM majors. The last yours truly saw from news accounts, there were over 1,400 signatures. We have noted in past posts that instituting a requirement by major field when incoming freshmen either don't know what major they will follow or may change their minds, raises issues. Nonetheless, we urged some kind of response by the Senate; perhaps a special committee that would look at the matter of the summer and report to the Senate and the Regents in September, could be a response.

The BOARS report on the Agenda was developed before the SAT matter developed. However, nothing would prevent some ad hoc discussion of the new item, either in the BOARS segment or as New Business. There is an opportunity to discuss New Business at the end of the agenda. Just saying...

Revived

From the LA Times: ...There is still hope for the Village Theatre, which recently received a breath of new life thanks to some of Hollywood’s biggest names. For the first time since 2024, the theater opened its doors early last month for the Los Angeles debut of Billie Eilish and James Cameron’s co-directed concert film, “Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour. ” Hundreds of fans filled the college town’s sidewalks, and streets were closed for the black SUVs that dropped off A-listers and executives on the bright blue carpet.

The event was the first of a limited number of premieres and screenings planned for this summer to support a 12-month renovation set to begin this fall. In July, the theater will host a special three-week run of Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” in 70 mm format. The revival is being led by Village Directors Circle, a group of 35 filmmakers who purchased the theater in 2024. They include prominent directors Jason Reitman, who is leading the effort, and Christopher Nolan, J.J. Abrams, Guillermo del Toro, Judd Apatow, Steven Spielberg and Chloé Zhao...

Full story at https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2026-06-03/westwood-village-theater-plans-its-2027-reopening.