Hike in College, Auto Fees Urged in Analysis of Proposed Budget

Legislative Analyst William G. Hamm called on the Legislature Wednesday to increase fees paid by university students and motorists but to reject more than $900 million in programs proposed by Gov. George Deukmejian.

In an analysis of Deukmejian’s $36.7-billion proposed state budget for the coming fiscal year, Hamm said the spending plan underestimates state expenditures by $481 million, in part by including “phony” estimates of Medi-Cal costs.

The nonpartisan analyst also recommended that the state re-examine its commitment to spend $400 million on Los Angeles’ Metro Rail subway project, which President Reagan recently singled out as a prime target in efforts to reduce the federal deficit.

Hamm’s recommendations to raise fees are likely to be unpopular as the Democratic-controlled Legislature and the Republican governor hammer out a final budget during this election year.

Deukmejian, who is seeking reelection on a platform that includes opposition to raising taxes, proposed no increase this year in student fees or driver’s license and motor vehicle registration fees.

However, Hamm recommended that annual University of California undergraduate fees be raised 9.4% or $117, starting this fall. He also called for an increase of $57 in the annual fee for California State University students, an increase of 10%.

A formula for the increases was spelled out in legislation signed by the governor last year and accepted by representatives of the student bodies, Hamm noted. Separate budget action is required to implement the formula.

“We cannot think of any reason why the state should abandon a policy approved by the governor and the Legislature in the last six months,” Hamm said in a statement.

Hamm recommended a $4 increase in the driver’s license renewal fee, raising it to $14, and a $6 increase in the vehicle registration fee, raising it to $29.

The fee increase is needed, he said, to ensure that motorists--and not the general taxpayers--continue to finance the California Highway Patrol, the Department of Motor Vehicles and other auto-related programs.

‘There Is No Alternative’

“There is no alternative to doing it so long as we maintain the policy that those who drive motor vehicles ought to pay the cost of maintaining streets and roadways, public safety on highways and local roads, and it should not be passed along to other taxpayers,” Hamm said.

Overall, the analyst recommended rejecting $905 million in appropriations for programs, including money for higher education--which would be partially made up for by the fee increase--and a proposed cost-of-living increase for public schools.

Hamm said this was the largest dollar amount his office had ever recommended be cut from the proposed budget of any governor. He called for keeping as much money as possible unallocated in the state’s reserve fund to help make up for expected reductions in federal aid under the Gramm-Rudman deficit-cutting statute.

Deukmejian’s budget, Hamm said, also underestimated likely state spending by $481 million, including $300 million in Medi-Cal costs.

Medi-Cal Estimates Hit

“The Medi-Cal estimates in the budget are phony,” he said. “The budget does not include enough money for the governor to do everything he says he’s going to do.”

Hamm’s recommendation that the state review its share of Metro Rail financing comes at a time when Democrats in Congress, as well as the President, have questioned the viability of the transit plan.

The $400 million in state funds already approved is pivotal for the subway plan that is the pet project of Mayor Tom Bradley, Deukmejian’s expected opponent in the November gubernatorial election.

“I’m recommending the Legislature take some time and look at where that project is,” Hamm told reporters.

Hamm’s analysis found Deukmejian’s proposed budget was inadequate in a number of other areas, including prison construction, toxic waste cleanup and research to combat acquired immunization deficiency syndrome.