Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed Assembly Bill 1413, a bill that the California Faculty Association and Assembly Member Anthony Portantino had supported as a check on the California State University Board of Trustees, on Friday.
The bill was supported in light of what some saw as the board's untimely pay raises to CSU executives.
CFA President Lillian Taiz said the veto sends the message that the governor is content with a CSU Administration that operates in secrecy and wastes millions of taxpayer dollars on executive pay while the student experience deteriorates.
Portantino, who is the chair of the assembly committee on higher education and authored the bill, said the governor's action and the board of trustees' recent actions have made it more difficult to fight for limited resources to benefit students.
Chancellor Charles Reed issued a statement that the CSU is pleased that the governor has vetoed the bill.
Reed said the CSU's practice to vote on all executive compensation matters in public session and new limits adopted last year on executive transition programs rendered AB 1413 largely redundant and unnecessary.
"We remain committed to operating the CSU with the highest possible level of transparency and accountability to students, taxpayers, policymakers and the public," Reed said.
In his veto message, Schwarzenegger said the bill was unnecessary and that they shouldn't be "micromanaging the hiring practices at University of California or the CSU system in ways that may hamper their ability to hire quality instructors and administrators."
Schwarzenegger said there should be transparency in the educational systems when appropriate. He is signing Senate Bill 190 to provide additional openness and accessibility for the public on matters of executive compensation.
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