Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's attorneys have filed their arguments for why employees in departments and agencies run by constitutional officers are subject to the executive's emergency furlough authority.
As you'll recall, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, Secretary of State Debra Bowen, Treasurer Bill Lockyer, Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, Attorney General Jerry Brown and the Board of Equalization did not furlough their employees. Roughly 15,000 employees work under them.
The constitutionals -- except for GOP gubernatorial candidate Poizner -- sued to maintain what they say is a constitutional independence that extends to how they handle staffing. They lost the first round in Sacramento Superior Court and appealed to Sacramento's 3rd District Court.
Click the following link to read the governor's rationale for furloughing constitutional officer employees.
A few of the points laid out in the document:
The governor is the "state employer" with the authority to furlough employees -- including those working under the constitutionals. The court ruling that opened the door to furloughs obligates the controller to go along with the furlough order and adjust the pay of constitutional officer employees. Although the governor whacked the constitutionals' budgets by amounts equal to or more than the amounts that would be saved by furloughs, the matter still needs to be litigated because it could arise again.
Click here to read the 54-page file.
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