The University of California Regents Governance Committee on Oct. 5, 2025, approved an amendment to Regents Policy 4105 that raises delegated settlement authority for certain officers and expands the range requiring board‑level approval.
Rhonda (presenter) told the committee the proposal would raise the president’s delegated authority to settle claims and separation agreements from $500,000 to $1,000,000 and make a similar increase for the general counsel. Under the proposal, the chair of the board and the chair of the compliance and audit committee would approve settlements and separation agreements greater than $1,000,000 and up to $2,000,000, replacing the current $500,000–$1,000,000 chair approval band.
The change aims to account for inflation and reduce administrative delay, several members said. When Regent Matos Santos asked when the levels were last adjusted, Rhonda said they were set in November 2008. Rhonda added the committee would revisit the authority levels in three years, with a review scheduled for July 2028.
Regent Cohen asked whether public knowledge of the delegated thresholds could influence settlement behavior, suggesting parties might aim to keep settlements below a higher approval cut line. Rhonda replied there was no evidence presented of such behavior in current practice.
The committee moved and seconded the item and recorded an affirmative vote; the transcript records “Aye” with no opposed votes and the motion passed.
The amendment takes effect as approved by the governance committee; the committee also instructed staff to return with a status report in July 2028 to reassess the delegated authority levels.