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A proposed constitutional amendment hailed as a first step toward a renewed state commitment to higher education is out of step with California's fiscal realities, according to a Legislative Analyst's Office report.
The report urges the California Legislature to reject a proposed constitutional amendment guaranteeing 10 percent of the state's budget for higher education, calling it an "unnecessary, ill-conceived measure that would do serious harm to the budget process."
The office, which provides nonpartisan fiscal and policy advice for the Legislature, questions the necessity of a constitutional amendment. According to the report, the state already has ample authority to increase funding for higher education and a constitutional guarantee would only tie the Legislature's hands.
"Locking up a tenth of the state budget on UC and CSU, in combination with similar funding guarantees already in place, would constrain spending choices for over half of the budget," the report reads. "This could make it more difficult for the legislature to shift funding to cover new cost demands in other areas that may be a legislative priority, such as social services, health care, the judiciary or infrastructure."