Days after California's public universities handed lucrative new pay and bonuses to three executives and a chancellor while raising student tuition, a state senator has introduced a bill to make such pay increases illegal in tough economic times.

The bill, filed Monday by state Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, would prohibit executive pay increases at the University of California and California State University in years when the state does not raise its allocation to the schools.

This year, California slashed $650 million from each university system. In response, the UC regents and CSU trustees raised tuition last week, both for the second time in less than a year. CSU tuition is 23 percent higher than it was last fall. UC tuition is 18 percent higher.

At the same time, CSU trustees approved a $400,000 salary for Elliot Hirshman, incoming president of the San Diego campus, that is $100,000 higher than his predecessor. The campus foundation will pay for $50,000 of it.

On Friday, UC regents gave a 24 percent raise to Associate Vice President Santiago Muñoz, from $201,400 to $250,000. Taxpayers pay 40 percent. They approved a 10 percent increase for Vice President Patrick Lenz, from $272,500 to $300,000, all from taxpayer funds. And they gave Mark Laret, who runs the UCSF Medical Center, a $195,300 raise, to $935,000, with a retention bonus of $1 million over four years. His pay is from medical center revenue.

The approvals were appalling, Yee said in a statement. "UC and CSU are public institutions, not Wall Street banks."

Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar bill from Yee in 2009.

Gov. Jerry Brown's position on the new bill isn't known, but in a letter last week he urged CSU trustees to reject the new salary for the San Diego president.

Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, wrote UC President Mark Yudof that the regents' decision "reveals a shocking misalignment of priorities."

Higher pay defended

Meanwhile, university officials defended the higher pay.

Lenz and Muñoz deserve the raises because of increased duties, said UC spokesman Steve Montiel. "Their compensation increases total $47,440 per year in state funds," he said. "It's a wise and relatively modest investment."

Laret's raise was necessary because a head-hunter from Harvard University had contacted Laret, although no offer was made, UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann told The Chronicle. Laret's involvement in completing UCSF's new medical center at Mission Bay is one reason he must stay, she said.

At CSU, Hirshman's salary is now the same as that of the president at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, said spokesman Mike Uhlenkamp.

However, in response to Brown's admonition, trustee Chairman Herb Carter created a committee to study the selection and compensation of campus presidents, and to report back to the full board in September.

Bill may not affect UC

"Obviously, we have heard the concern from the Legislature, as well as the governor," Uhlenkamp said.

Meanwhile, it's not clear whether UC would have to abide by Yee's bill if it became law because it has constitutional autonomy.

"But we take seriously any action by the Legislature and the governor," Montiel said. "They control funding."