CSCU Day at the Capitol:
April 19, 1-3pm
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Legislative Leadership
Senate
Martin Looney, Pres. Pro Tempore
Bob Duff, Majority Leader
Len Fasano, Minority Leader
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How to Track a Bill
- Visit the "Enter Public" Tab of Bill Tracking on the General Assembly's homepage.
- Click on "Enter Guests"
- Register (at the top) by entering your name, email address, mobile number, mobile provider, and password. Click submit.
- You must check your email and click on the confirmation link.
- Once logged in, you are able to track bills by their number, by committee, or by sponsor or co-sponsor.
- You may also direct the website to notify you immediately when there is a bill status change or email you a report.
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How Do the Community College Fare in Governor's Second Budget?
As you may have read, the Governor criticized the Appropriations Committee when it passed its budget last week, calling it "incomplete" (read more
here). Therefore, the Governor released a second budget this week. The Governor's budget includes a workforce reduction of 2,500 state employees, non-union management increases to a 20% contribution towards health care premiums, and significant cuts to education and social services.
For the Community Colleges, there is a small cut to the Board of Regents (about 2% below the Appropriations Committee recommendation). In the Governor's February budget, he recommended that the BOR pay for the fringe benefits of its employees (rather than the Comptroller's Office). This proposal was removed by the Appropriations Committee. However, the transfer of fringe benefit costs has been transferred back in the Governor's second budget.
While the Community Colleges have not been significantly harmed in the budget talks so far, it is important to remain strong advocates for our colleges and for our brother and sister state employees! See more information for how you can help in "Lobby Days."
Lobby Days
The 4Cs sponsored a Lobby Day for the Community Colleges on March 31. About 40-50 attendees came to the Capitol and went out to meet with legislators. While there were not many legislators in the building that day, packets were delivered to EVERY legislator with our fact sheets. Also, about 1500-2000 postcards that we have collected in support of the community colleges were hand delivered!
Proposed Legislation
Every legislative session, there are a number of proposed bills that if passed, will affect our members. Following is a list of proposals that have been introduced so far. As always, keep in mind that these are simply proposals. Thousands of bills are proposed every year and only a small portion of them go on to become law. The 4Cs leadership and lobbyist will follow all of these bills and if there is ever a need for us to act in great numbers, we will inform you. However, if you are interested in following these bills yourself, please see "How to Track Bills" in the sidebar.
Higher Education
SB-25:
AN ACT CONCERNING SPECIAL POLICE FORCES ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES. Statement of Purpose: To permit the establishment of a special police force at each of the regional community-technical colleges, subject to approval by the BOR.
(View testimony provided by Mark Ojakian
here
). It is currently tabled for the Senate Calendar. It received a favorable report from the Committee.
Labor & Public Employees
What are the Hot Topics at the Capitol?
According to the Office of Legislative Research (OLR), the hot topics this week are:
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