Bill to bring transparency to SSU gets governor's veto

<p>Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill Sunday intended to increase transparency at public universities, drawing sharp criticism from the bill's author and the union group representing professors.</p><p>The bill, SB 218, would have required university auxiliaries such as the Sonoma State University Academic Foundation to meet the same public record law as state-run institutions.</p><p>A series of loans issued by Sonoma State's foundation to a former board member became a rallying cry for supporters of SB 218.</p><p>State Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, who authored the bill, said he was shocked and dismayed that the governor vetoed the bill.</p><p>“It would have shed some light into what was going on at Sonoma,” Yee said. “The veto is a win for the privileged, for those who have access to power.”</p><p>The foundation issued millions of dollars in private loans to former board member Clem Carinalli, who is the county's largest individual land owner and now in the midst of a complicated personal bankruptcy.</p><p>Schwarzenegger said he vetoed the bill because it could reduce private donations to universities.</p><p>“Subjecting the altruistic activities of private donors and volunteers to the California Public Records Act will have a chilling effect on their support and service,” he said in a press release Sunday.</p><p>The governor vetoed 94 bills Sunday and signed 89.</p><p>Yee rejected the governor's assertion, saying the bill did not require the names of donors be made public unless they received something from the university in return.</p><p>The California Faculty Association, which represents 23,000 faculty statewide, including 500 at Sonoma State University, issued a sharp rebuke of the governor's veto.</p><p>“We are outraged that the governor vetoed this bill,” Lillian Taiz, president of the association, said in a statement Sunday night. “When given the opportunity to provide the public with real, meaningful transparency in its public universities — he failed miserably.”</p><p>The California Public Records Act applies to universities, but not to the auxiliary organizations created by campus administrators. Many of these organizations are entirely staffed by university employees and serve vital roles on campus. The Sonoma State foundation receives all donations to the university, and manages the money and any disbursements such as scholarships and grants. Sonoma State Enterprises is an auxiliary that runs retail and dining services on campus.</p><p>Yee said he would resubmit the bill in hopes the governor might support it on the second go round.</p><p>“This issue is not going to be over,” he said. “We've got to shed some light on these auxiliaries.”</p>