Review Process for Pending Legislation

The Senate leadership is frequently asked by UCOP legislative coordinators to review and comment on pending state and federal legislation that could potentially impact faculty, students and the University’s teaching, research and service missions.  Since these requests usually come with a short response period, the following abbreviated review process was developed to enable the Senate to have timely input on these issues.

Senate Reviewers are Identified

At the beginning of the academic year, the Council Chair may ask each of the Standing Committee Chairs to identify one or more of their committee members who would be willing to review and comment on pending legislation, as requested.  In other cases, the respective Standing Committee Chairs serve in this role. In addition to the standby reviewers, the Council Chair also seeks comments from other faculty members who, because of their expertise and/or experience in a particular area, are able to provide a greater insight on specific issues that might be contained in a bill.

Comments are Requested from Reviewers

When a request for Senate comment is received, the Legislative Analyst, in consultation with the Council Chair, identifies and forwards it to the appropriate Senate reviewers.  For example, legislation concerning policies on admissions would be sent to the reviewers serving on the Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools, the Coordinating Committee of Graduate Affairs, and the University Committee on Educational Policy.  Depending on the issues involved, reviewers serving on the Committee on Planning and Budget or the Committee on Affirmative Action and Diversity might also be asked to comment.  The reviewers are asked to respond by a specified due date – typically within three to four days time, but usually not later than a week.

A Proposed Response is Drafted

The Legislative Analyst formulates a response based on the comments received from the reviewers and his/her own research and analysis, and submits it to the Council Chair and/or Council Vice Chair for review and approval.

The Final Response is Submitted

When the Council Chair and/or Vice Chair approve the draft response, it is forwarded by the Legislative Analyst to the appropriate UCOP legislative coordinator, with a copy to all of the contributing reviewers.