Chair of California Democratic Party to speak on campus
As part of the La Raza Law Students Association’s Cesar Chavez Day weeklong celebration, Art Torres, chair of the California Democratic Party and former state legislator, will speak at the UC Davis School of Law at noon today.
Torres graduated from the UC Davis King Hall School of Law in 1971 and went on to serve eight years in the state Assembly and 12 in the Senate. A leader in his community, he was the first Latino to receive the Democratic Party’s nomination for statewide office when he ran for insurance commissioner in 1994.
Torres garnered national media attention that year for his vehement opposition to Proposition 187, which aimed to prevent undocumented immigrants from receiving social services.
Regents endorse Proposition 1A on Special Election ballot
At their meeting in UC Riverside on Mar. 19, the University of California Board of Regents voted to support Proposition 1A in California’s May 19 special election.
Prop 1A would increase the amount of funding held in reserve from the state’s general fund, regulate the level of spending each year and increase the size of the “rainy day” reserve fund to protect state-funded institutions from the rollercoaster of state funding levels seen in recent years.
“By helping the state to achieve a more stable financial picture, Proposition 1A enhances the ability of the University of California to secure more adequate state support to fund its core mission in future years,“ said Richard C. Blum, the regents‘ chairman, in a press release. “Not only will Prop 1A help avoid further deep budget cuts to higher education and state agencies that are subject to discretionary funding actions of the legislature and the governor, but it also helps smooth out how state funds are spent in future years to avoid the boom and bust cycles California has experienced in the last decade and a half.“
The budget passed by the state legislature this year leaves the UC system with $115 million in new permanent cuts, stretching the estimated two-year shortfall to $450 million.
ALYSOUN BONDE can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
