California Ocean Science Trust

“The secretary of the california environmental protection agency, the secretary of the california natural resources agency and the state of california director of finance each appoint one trustee. The natural resources secretary receives nominations for the remaining seven trustees and appoints the trustees as follows: three trustees representing the california state university and the university of california; two trustees representing ocean and coastal interest groups of the state; and two trustees representing the general public.”

“Ost does not have committees with the authority to act on behalf of the board.”

“The executive director and board finance subcommittee reviewed the form 990 before it was filed with the irs; a copy of the filed 990 will be presented at the next full board meeting.”

“California ocean science trust governance documents include a conflict of interest policy requiring all members of the board of trustees to disclose any affiliations with outside entities that have received, currently receive, or have plans or aspirations to receive funding from the trust; such members are required to recuse themselves from participating in decision-making that impacts their affiliated entities. This policy will continue to be enforced in the current year and in future years. In addition, all members of the ost board of trustees annually file a california form 700 statement of economic interests, which includes disclosures of all business interests, investments, income, property, and/or gifts.”

“During the pandemic, and the prior period, no change was made to executive director compensation, but at the end of tax year 2020, the board approved a 2.5% annual cola increase, effective june 1, 2021. Following is ost's formal process for executive compensation: the ost board of trustees evaluates the executive director annually on his/her performance to ensure that the organization provides a fair yet reasonable and not excessive compensation for the executive director. - a recommendation of salary and benefit level adjustment is made to the full board by the board chair after obtaining data from a variety of sources relating to executive compensation levels at other comparable organizations. The board - made up of individuals with no known conflicts of interest - then votes on the matter in executive session. - decisions are documented via correspondence from the board chair, which is then placed in the personnel file.”

“The organizations' governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements are available to the public upon request.”

“The board audit & finance subcommittee assumes responsibility for oversight of the audit and selection of an independent accountant. This committee meets 4 times annually, and reviews budgets, financial statements, tax returns, etc., prior to their presentation to the full board.”