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Students,
Civil Rights Groups Ask California Supreme Court to Halt Governor
Schwarzenegger's 2003-04 Budget Cuts
Cuts
Violate State Constitution, Jeopardize Education, Suit Charges
SAN
FRANCISCO (January 21, 2004) — The University of California
Student Association, Californians for Justice, the Equal Justice
Society, and individual students petitioned the California Supreme
Court to block implementation of over $148 million in budget cuts
to education and other programs.
The
petition for writ of mandate alleges that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's
budget cuts of December 18, 2003 violate the California Constitution
by overstepping the Legislature's power to determine how public
funds are spent. The petition was filed by Warrington Parker III
and Nicholas van Aelstyn of the firm of Heller Ehrman White &
McAuliffe.
The
petition focuses on the Governor's November Executive Order lowering
the vehicle license fee. In order to compensate cities and counties
for shortfalls created by the decrease in license fee revenue,
Director of Finance Donna Arduin announced last month more than
$148 million in mid-year 2003-04 budget cuts to education, health,
and other services. The education budget was cut by more than
$100 million; $24 million was slashed from University of California
and California State University outreach programs.
The
petitioners argue that Governor Schwarzenegger violated state
law by lowering the Vehicle License Fee when there was not enough
money in the General Fund to offset funding decreases. Lead counsel
Parker III stated, "The Governor's Director of Finance clearly
lacked authority under California constitutional and statutory
law to offset the license fee decreases by imposing over $148
million in budget cuts without Legislative approval."
Eva
Paterson, Executive Director of the Equal Justice Society, said,
"We proudly joined this litigation to uphold two important
principles. First, that the Governor cannot unilaterally disregard
the Legislature's funding power to spend money in a way that is
more to his liking. Second, outreach programs are essential to
ensure that students from disadvantaged communities in California
are not diverted from the dream of a UC and CSU education."
Abdi
Soltani, Executive Director of Californians for Justice, explained,
"College outreach programs are critical to equal access to
higher education in our state. The Governor has overstepped his
authority and mortgaged our future."
The
UC Student Association and individual students joined as parties
because outreach programs have a profound impact on opportunities
to pursue higher education. More than half of all freshmen admitted
to UC last year came from only one-fifth of California's high
schools. Matt Kaczmarek, Chair of the UC Student Association,
said "If the University's outreach programs are cut, this
ratio will grow even worse. Students from high schools in poor
areas and communities of color will be further excluded."
Attorney
van Aelstyn stated, "Governor Schwarzenegger made a bad situation
worse when he attempted to rearrange the budget in this manner,
thus robbing the Legislature of its basic lawmaking authority."
The
petitioners filed directly with the California Supreme Court because
of the urgency of the case.
The
petition for writ of mandate is available on the web at http://www.equaljusticesociety.org
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MEDIA
CONTACTS:
Heller
Ehrman White & McAuliffe LLP
Warrington Parker III
wparker(at)hewm.com
(415) 772-6176
Nicholas
W. van Aelstyn
nvanaelstyn(at)hewm.com
(415) 772-6566
Equal
Justice Society
Eva Paterson, Executive Director
(415) 288-8700
epaterson(at)equaljusticesociety.org
Californians
for Justice
Abdi Soltani,Executive Director
abdi(at)caljustice.org
(510) 452-2728
Ed
Lee, Policy Associate
ed(at)caljustice.org
(510) 452-2728
Univ.
of California Student Association
Graciela (Liz) Geyer, Executive Director
lizgeyer(at)ucsa.org
(510) 834-UCSA
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