The State Hornet - Guest Column: Fighting to save higher education in California

The State Hornet - Guest Column: Fighting to save higher education in California

For the first time in California’s history, our state government spent more money on
prisons than higher education.

It’s a shocking figure – but not a surprising one when you consider how much education is
being cut: close to $800 million from the University of California and over $1 billion from
the budgets of Cal State University and California Community College systems combined.
As a result, tuition at our public universities has skyrocketed by over 30% – just as you
and thousands of other students are forced to endure budget cuts, slashed enrollment,
impossible waitlists and reduced course offerings.

My own parents worked as janitors so that I could be the first in my family to go to
college. I know firsthand that the true spirit of California opportunity and optimism is
nurtured in great schools.

That is why I am fighting to fund California colleges and universities by requiring Big Oil
to pay their fair share for the oil they pump out of our state’s land and water. California can
no longer afford to be the only major oil-producing state that doesn’t levy such a
fee. Texas, for instance, generates $400 million for higher education through a similar fee.

My bill, AB 656, would raise up to $2 billion a year for the UC, CSU and community
colleges with a 12.5 percent tax on oil extracted within California. That’s considerably less
than the 25-percent tax levied in Sarah Palin’s Alaska.

The fight to save higher education won’t be easy. The oil companies will tell you that they
already pay enough taxes and that this bill will result in jobs lost. Yet oil companies have
been experiencing record breaking profits for the past several years. Exxon Mobile, for
instance, raked in a $45.2 billion profit in 2008, the most ever by a publicly-traded U.S.
company.

More money for higher education means more classes and more financial aid for you.
Momentum continues to build for AB 656. We are more than halfway to reaching our goal
of organizing over 100,000 supporters – which will make it one of the most significant
grassroots efforts in California’s legislative history. AB 656 has also garnered the support
of the 700,000-member Courage Campaign – a powerful