The State Worker: Billwatch: MOU measures, pay appropriations bill face key votes

The State Worker

Chronicling civil-service life for California state workers

August 19, 2010

Billwatch: MOU measures, pay appropriations bill face key votes

Furlough court fights have dominated the news, but don't forget that the Legislature is considering several bills of keen interest to state workers, including ...

MOU bills: The State Worker has calls out to the Legislature regarding Senate Bill 846 and Assembly Bill 1592. The two bills cover labor agreements reached with bargaining units 5, 8, 12, 16, 18 and 19. They're in the final stages of legislative action before going to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk for his signature.

State worker wage appropriation bill: We're also asking about Assembly Bill 1699, which would make state employee payroll a continuously appropriated item. That change would shield state workers from threat of their pay being withheld to the federal minimums allowed during a budget impasse.

As we reported last month, Democrats were prepared to make significant concessions to get the Republican support needed to get to the two-thirds vote required to pass the bill. The latest version of the bill does exactly that by guaranteeing payments to businesses that provide goods and services during a budget impasse. Under current law, the state delays pay to vendors for anything they provide after June 30 until a budget is in place.

(Click here for an earlier State Worker post that explains the 2003 state Supreme Court decision that Schwarzenegger invokes to order minimum wage.)

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