Sacramento State auxiliary organizations and foundations may be subject to increased scrutiny, should Senate Bill 330 be passed by the Assembly.

SB 330, authored by Sen. Leland Yee, is a reincarnation of SB 218, which was vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in October. The bill focuses on auxiliary organizations and foundations not being covered by the California Public Records Act. The state Senate passed SB 330 on Jan. 28.

According to the CSU chancellor’s office, the auxiliaries and foundations systemwide use 20 percent of the CSU budget. Their funding, their sources and their uses are not open to the public. If the bill is signed by the governor, all that information will have to be disclosed.

“Enacting this bill would result in a loss of private donations and volunteer activities supporting California public institutions of higher education,” the governor wrote in his veto message.

To accommodate the governor’s concerns, SB 330 has been revised from SB 218 to let donors keep their philanthropy anonymous. The bill would prevent auxiliaries and university foundations from quid pro quo agreement.

Examples of auxiliary misuse are if donors receive luxury seating to a sporting event as compensation for a charitable donation or if a contracting company makes a donation then receives a contract to develop a new building for the university.

California Faculty Association is sponsoring the bill and urging Sen. Yee to move forward with legislation.

“Somebody should be asking questions,” said John Travis, chair of the CFA political action committee. “What is the fiscal justification for auxiliary actions?”

Travis said the bill is not aimed at donors who receive gifts as tokens of appreciation, but rather exposes donors who hope to gain fiscally from the university.

“A current concern facing supporters of the bill is even though the bill passed through the senate with minimal opposition, because of the governor’s previous veto there’s a chance that the opposition has picked up support in the house,” Travis said.

Leslie Davis, president of the CSU Auxiliary Association, is opposed to the bill.

“It doesn’t make any sense. The bill is not clear,” she said.

Davis said the language used in the bill doesn’t make clear whose records become transparent and whose records are protected.

“We’re not government agencies,” Davis said.

Davis said that auxiliaries are treated as charities and private interest groups for the benefit of the university.

“Auxiliaries affect the public institution, the university, and should be held accountable,” said Adam Keigwin, spokesman for Yee.

Keigwin said if there was more transparency among the auxiliaries and their funds, donors could see their money is being put to good use.

Despite auxiliaries being separate entities from the university, Keigwin acknowledged the growing trend that university administrators are shifting their responsibilities to auxiliaries. By shifting duties to the auxiliaries, their fiscal records are no longer covered by the California Public Records Act. The CPRA makes university records public.

“Auxiliaries are already subject to extensive oversight and hold to strict accountability and transparency standards, including the public’s right to inspect or otherwise have access to a wide range of information.” said John Kepley, assistant to Sac State President Alexander Gonzalez. “Sac State’s auxiliaries are governed by independent boards, which hold open meetings. UEI’s board, for example, includes students, non-university community members, Sac State faculty members, as well as university administrators.”

Sac State’s auxiliaries include the University Foundation at Sacramento State, the University Union, Capital Public Radio, University Enterprises Inc., University Enterprises Development Group and Associated Students, Inc.

“The auxiliaries have a lot of power and impact on the university, and the university is controlled by the state so the same rules apply” said Jim Cox, government professor and master’s program coordinator.

The bill has been sent to the Assembly where a vote has not yet been scheduled.

Cahil Bhanji can be reached at [email protected].