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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday vetoed a maintenance of effort bill that would have required the state to cover cost increases negotiated in collective bargaining agreements between trade unions and the state's two public university systems, the City University of New York and the State University of New York.
The bill would have also required that the state fund increases in other operational costs, such as in utilities and rent. The idea behind the bill was to keep the cost increases from being bundled into tuition.
Cuomo said such costs should be discussed as part of the overall public higher education budget. "Isolated changes should not be made outside of the context of broader discussions about higher education policy. Further, given the potential negative impact on the state's financial plan, the issues raised by this legislation are better dealt with in the context of negotiations for the upcoming state budget," he wrote in a veto message, according to Politico New York.
CUNY's faculty and staff union, the Professional Staff Congress, criticized Cuomo's decision, saying it amounted to a "refusal to invest in the education CUNY students need."
