Leland Yee, a California State Senator who’s made something of a career out of criticizing higher education spending, sponsored a bill that would require foundations and other groups that support the University of California or the California State University systems to disclose donor lists to the public. No such luck.
According to an article in the Central Valley Business Times:
A bill that would require the various foundations and other types of auxiliaries that are closely associated with [public colleges] to open their donation records to the public has been scuttled by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“While the bill attempts to provide a veil of protection for donors requesting anonymity, as crafted, it will not provide sufficient protection for many who rightfully deserve a level of privacy as part of their giving,” Mr. Schwarzenegger says in his veto message Thursday night. “Often times, these generous private citizen donors do not want to be in the glare of publicity.”
The “glare of publicity” is also known as “public information.” The state universities protested that the bill, if passed, would reduce private donations.
Yee wrote the bill in the wake of Sarah Palin’s controversial fundraising visit to California State University, Stanislaus back in June. [Image via]
