By John Martin
On September 15, 2024, Governor Newsom vetoed – yet again – a popular bill that easily passed out of both the Assembly and Senate: AB 2277, which would have raised the current workload cap on part-time faculty from 67% to 85% of a full-time workload statewide. This third veto on a workload cap increase from 67% to 85%, was very disheartening, especially since CPFA sponsored it and we specifically added significant new language that we, our allies and even Wallis’ Office, were convinced was veto-proof. The Governor’s hollow excuse for his third veto was, again, that the proposed legislation could somehow harm the state’s budget and put “…cost pressures in the millions to tens of millions of dollars” on districts – based on the false assumption that the federal healthcare mandate, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (a.k.a., ACA), would be invoked if part-timers working at 85% of a full-time workload managed to meet or exceed an annual average of 30 hours of work per week – a scenario that is impossible given facts on the ground.
In an effort to dismantle this repeating myth and preempt this expected objection, the following line was added to the language of AB 2277 in the third go-around: “In all cases, all workload pertaining to part-time, temporary faculty assignments, including, but not limited to, instructional time, office hours, and mandatory meetings, shall average less than 30 hours per week, consistent with the terms and guidelines of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148).” With such explicit language, Newsom’s repeated justification for vetoing the bill only begs the question: exactly what part of this bill would create “cost pressures” on any district or the state?
If passed, this bill would preclude districts from providing ACA benefits to any part-time faculty who even managed to be approved to work up to the new 85% limit. We explained this in two separate meetings with Newsom’s legislative officer and his Department of Finance. The Chancellor’s Office was neutral on this bill – an improved position that we welcomed since we met with them twice as well. To reiterate, in order for anyone to qualify for ACA-mandated health care, they would have to average more than 30 hours per week per year or 52 weeks. For part-time faculty, that’s actually impossible to do. As everyone knows, each semester is only about 17 weeks, summer classes are usually about 6 weeks, and winter sessions are about 3 weeks, which adds up to 43 weeks of the year. 85% of a full-time teaching load of 15 classroom hours per week is 12.75 hours. Do the math and you will find that even counting 1.25 hours of prep and grading for each classroom hour, a full 85% load would be 28.69 hours per week, but it’s only for a max of approximately 43 weeks. Average it over 52 weeks and no part-timer could meet the IRS’ minimum average of 30 hours per week in any one year to be eligible for ACA benefits!
So, what’s next? What should be CPFA’s next legislative move, given that the Governor will likely remain in office for the next two years. I believe any modified version of this bill that we put forth will be shut down upon reaching his desk. As I stated in my recent interview with EdSource, Newsom is either getting wrong information from his handlers or he simply does not care. Were there any nefarious talks or negotiations that went on behind-the-scenes? I don’t know, but what I do know is that if Newsom’s veto could be challenged in a court of law, he would not be able to provide proof to support his claims and there’s simply no reason to believe his word without evidence.
I would be remiss if I did not personally thank the honorable Assemblymember Greg Wallis (R, District 47), who took up our cause when he authored this bill. Not only did he understand the simple math, Assemblymember Wallis also understood how this bill would have meaningfully improved the lives of potentially tens of thousands of part-time faculty across the state. Special thanks also to Wallis’ legislative staffer, Ms. Kristen Root, and political director, Ms. Cynthia Bryant, who both worked tirelessly with CPFA to craft a sound piece of legislation and showed their confidence in us to do the heavy lifting. I wish to thank Assemblymember Tasha Boerner (D, District 77) who also showed leadership by later coming on board as co-author on this bill. And, finally, a big thanks to all the legislators, both Democrats and Republicans, who recognized the value of this bill and supported its passage into law, many of whom supported this proposed legislation on multiple attempts.
CPFA is currently exploring a few possibilities for renewed efforts at the Capitol, but in the meantime, please send us your wish list of legislative priorities. Keep in mind that if your proposal would require additional state funding, we may decide it’s not worth our time and limited resources to pursue since the state’s budget was the previously cited concern even despite evidence to the contrary. So, please submit something that is either a very low cost or no-cost item for our legislative consideration. Send your suggestions to info@cpfa.org or submit them through our website, by going to CPFA.org/contact-us.