Governor Schwarzenegger has vetoed a bill that would have applied the state’s Public Records Act to fundraising foundations affiliated with UC and CSU campuses. Although the bill would have restricted disclosure for anonymous donors to the universities, the Governor claimed those restrictions were not sufficient to satisfy some donors.-PS
A bill that would require the various foundations and other types of auxiliaries that are closely associated with California State University and the University of California to open their donation records to the public has been scuttled by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The University of California and California State University claimed Senate Bill 330 would result in a “chilling effect” on private donations.
“For a governor who wanted to blow up the boxes and whose rhetoric is filled with platitudes of open government, it is a disgrace and completely hypocritical to then veto legislation to bring real transparency and accountability to our public universities,” says the bill’s author, state Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco.
“The governor, like his ivory tower counterparts within the UC and CSU administrations, failed California taxpayers and students by vetoing this sunshine legislation. He has secured his legacy as governor – a failure when it came to open government,” he says.
“While the bill attempts to provide a veil of protection for donors requesting anonymity, as crafted, it will not provide sufficient protection for many who rightfully deserve a level of privacy as part of their giving,” Mr. Schwarzenegger says in his veto message Thursday night. “Often times, these generous private citizen donors do not want to be in the glare of publicity.”
The bill would have placed the institutions’ subsidiary organizations – known as “auxiliaries” – under the scope of the California Public Records Act. Under existing law that now will remain unchanged, the state’s public colleges and universities are able to hide billions of dollars within their auxiliary organizations and foundations, which are often staffed by public employees, Mr. Yee had argued.
Copyright 2010 Central Valley Business Times