We've received about a dozen e-mails and three phone calls from state workers all asking the same question: Will lawmakers get paid for submitting a budget that Brown vetoed?
It all depends on what the state's checkwriter-in-chief decides. Controller John Chiang has set himself up as the arbiter for Proposition 25, the initiative that withholds elected state workers' wages (A.K.A. legislator's pay and per diem) if they fail to submit a balanced budget by June 15. While the measure doesn't name the controller as the person to decide whether the standard is met, the office has the power to cut paychecks -- or not.
That "pay role" is a powerful tool, as we saw when former GOP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger twice attempted to withhold state employees' wages to the federal minimum during budget impasses in 2008 and last year. In both cases Chiang defied Schwarzenegger and illustrated how his office can affect policy.
(In case you missed it, Brown dropped the lawsuit he inherited from the Schwarzenegger administration that sought to force Chiang's compliance.)
Brown and Treasurer Bill Lockyer, both Democrats, have said the budget passed by their own party is a sham. It's created pressure for Chiang, also a Democrat, to withhold the Legislature's pay and per diem in keeping with Proposition 25. Bee columnist Dan Walters weighed in today, saying, "If Chiang pays legislators, the rejected budget will look like a giant charade by Democrats to evade the law."
On Thursday, after Brown's speedy veto of the Dems' majority budget, the controller's office issued this release:
Controller Comments on Governor's Veto Decision and Proposition 25SACRAMENTO - State Controller John Chiang today made the following comments regarding the Governor's decision to veto the budget bills enacted Wednesday by the Legislature:
GOVERNOR'S VETO
"With one arm tied behind their backs, Democratic lawmakers attempted to close the budget deficit while not betraying their core values of protecting public safety and education. It fell short because Californians aspire for a balanced budget built on sustainable solutions that will restore the state's fiscal health for the long-term. Anything short of that only invites more of the turmoil, uncertainty, and lost opportunities that have been the hallmarks of budget plans in years past."I support the Governor's decision today to call upon legislators - from both parties - to try again."
PROPOSITION 25
"I remain resolute in my commitment to enforcing the public's will to permanently withhold legislative pay for every day a balanced budget is not passed after yesterday's deadline. Article 4, Section 12(g) of the Constitution clearly states that a budget is balanced only if authorized expenditures do not exceed projected revenues, 'as set forth in the budget bill passed by the Legislature.'"I will move quickly to complete our analysis of whether the budget bills passed Wednesday meet the constitutional definition, or fall short, which would require my office to forfeit their pay under Proposition 25. We are awaiting the final budget bill language before we begin our examination. In addition, we have asked the Department of Finance, which tracks and tallies the Legislature's budget activities, for data to inform our decision."
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
· Proposition 25 only references the Legislature's passage of a budget; it is not affected by the Governor's signature or veto.· Nothing in the Constitution or state law gives the State Controller the authority to judge the honesty, legitimacy or viability of a budget. The only authority this office has over the budget is through Proposition 25 and 58, to determine whether the budget bills enacted show that expected revenues will equal or exceed planned expenditures. As evidence of that, Senator Sam Blakeslee has announced plans to introduce a constitutional amendment giving the Controller broader, independent authority to evaluate budget solutions for "smoke and mirrors."
· Legislators are scheduled to be paid on June 30th.
PHOTO: Controller John Chiang responds to a question from Bee Capitol Bureau reporters in 2010. Hector Amezcua / Sacramento Bee.
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