California Attorney General Jerry Brown ruled Thursday that the California Citizens Compensation Commission can cut the salaries of state lawmakers, setting in motion an 18% pay cut for members of the Assembly and Senate. The salary reduction will take effect Dec. 7, and reduce legislators' pay from $116,208 a year to $95,291.
Lawmakers, who along with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, have apporved pay cuts for state employees, ironically battled against their own pay being reduced. That brought on criticism that the legislators were being hypocritical -- asking everyone but themselves to sacrifice during the state budget crisis.
They even put up front-men to do their anti-pay-cut dirty work. The lawmakers' backers contended that the citizens commission did not have the authority to cut the pay in mid-term. They sought a legal opinion from the attorney general on the legality of the commission's action. Legislators could challenge Brown's opinion in court, but that would really be bad form as they approach the 2010 elections.
Here's part of Brown's opinion:
"In response to your question as to whether the California Citizens Compensation Commission can reduce the salaries of legislators during their terms of office, the short answer is yes."
The Amtrak trip to San Diego is about two hours longer than driving, but it's a lot less stressful than maneuvering your car through Southern California traffic. I visited my daughter in San Diego over the weekend to see her new apartment, and took the train down on Saturday and returned on Monday.
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