State Employees
November 18, 2011
Rhode Island’s Landmark Pension Reform
Last night, by overwhelming margins, the Rhode Island legislature passed what may be the nation’s most comprehensive state public employee pension reform ever (see our analysis for an education perspective on the bill). While pension battles have been front-page news in states such as Wisconsin, this reform didn’t emerge from an anti-union crusade. Instead, as Ted Nesi, the WPRI reporter whose in-depth coverage became must-read in the state, explains, it was a tale of leaders finally confronting a fiscal nightmare:
…Put another way, lopsided majorities voted to cut retirees’ pension benefits in a union-dominated state where Democrats have controlled the legislature since the eve of World War II...
LINK - EducationNext.org
June 25, 2009
Absent a budget fix, IOUs on the way
State controller John Chiang warned today that if legislators and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger fail to come up with a budget-balancing package in the next week, he would begin paying California's bills with IOUs on July 2.
The controller's warning came as legislators began what many on both sides of the aisle acknowledged was a rhetorical song-and-dance over closing a $24 billion deficit that stretches over the fiscal year that ends Tuesday and the one that begins Wednesday…
…A federal court ruled in 1996 that state employees couldn't be paid with IOUs. Others who receive them will draw interest on them, but banks and other financial institutions can refuse to accept them. Chiang said the IOUs would have a maturity date of Oct. 1…
LINK - SacBee.com
August 17, 2008
Our view: State workers taken hostage in budget fight
In the latest sordid scene out of Sacramento, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is essentially holding a gun to the heads of state employees in an attempt to force California legislators to compromise on a budget for the new fiscal year that began a month and a half ago.
In fact, the governor is already trying to pull the trigger to temporarily slash pay for many employees and suspend it completely for others. He's being thwarted so far by state Controller John Chiang, who contends the state has enough money to meet its needs into October event without a new budget.
Chiang, by the way is a Democrat. Schwarzenegger is a Republican. That's no coincidence, because partisan party politics are a big reason for the budget debacle…
LINK - Triplicate.com
August 12, 2008
Schwarzenegger sues California controller over pay cuts
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration sued Democratic state Controller John Chiang on Monday in an effort to cut pay for about 180,000 state employees by the end of August, moving the salary battle from the political arena to the courtroom.
Chiang vowed to defy the Republican governor's pay instructions asking that 150,000 state employees receive the federal minimum wage of $6.55 per hour and 30,000 managers and supervisors receive a salary equal to $11.38 per hour until a state budget is enacted.
Lawmakers remained at odds Monday over how to resolve a $15.2 billion shortfall. Schwarzenegger continues to seek support for a temporary sales tax increase in exchange for lasting improvements in the budget process…
LINK - SacBee.com (The Sacramento Bee)
April 25, 2008
Plan to open up CalPERS reflects worry about inadequate saving for retirement
Investing for retirement is the financial equivalent of eating your vegetables: It's good for you, but sometimes downright distasteful. Now a proposal making its way through the California Legislature has people talking about whether the state can make putting aside retirement money more palatable.
The plan would let private businesses and workers funnel direct payroll deposits into a retirement investment account. The California Public Employees' Retirement System would administer the pooled money.
No one knows how many of California's 6 million workers without retirement plans would sign up. Many struggle in jobs that leave them with little money at the end of the month. The arcane language of finance can paralyze the uninitiated. And let's face it: We love buying stuff, even when we can't afford it…
LINK - SacBee.com (The Sacramento Bee)
March 24, 2008
California state employee unions face tough bargaining
For the state public employee unions whose contracts come up this year, the timing couldn't be worse.
It's a bargaining season where an $8 billion budget deficit provides the economic backdrop, and just about all the parties agree the atmosphere surrounding the talks is going to be dismal.
"It's sort of like having Christmas during the Depression," said Terry McHale, a lobbyist who represents the California Department of Forestry Firefighters…
LINK - SacBee.com
February 21, 2008
Minnesota: Governor Freezes State Hiring
It's not just in California…
Gov. Tim Pawlenty implemented a hiring freeze Tuesday amid expectations that the state budget deficit will grow. "Considering the current economic slowdown, it is important that state government take steps to rein in costs, utilize technology and improve productivity just as private businesses, non-profits and families are doing," Pawlenty wrote to his commissioners and state board executive directors.
In late November, a state report predicted a $373 million deficit during the current two-year budget. However, more recent reports indicate that the deficit will grow, perhaps dramatically. The next report is due Feb. 28. The governor's letter says he will allow agencies to fill some job openings, such as for prison guards and other public safety workers…
LINK - Republican-Eagle.com
February 19, 2008
Schwarzenegger Orders Hiring Freeze
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday signed an executive order freezing state hiring and halting nonessential service contracts - a move he said could save the cash-strapped state $100 million by June 30.Schwarzenegger issued the order on the heels of a $2 billion midyear budget reduction to deal with the state's projected $14.5 billion deficit. The governor also urged the Democratic-led Legislature to immediately begin working on more cuts for the 2008-09 fiscal year, which begins July 1. Schwarzenegger resisted calls by Democratic leaders to balance the state's shortfall through a combination of cuts and taxes…
LINK - SacBee.com
January 31, 2008
Governor’s Latest Appointees: January 2008
Elizabeth Ashford, 33, of Sacramento, has been appointed chief deputy cabinet secretary in the Office of the Governor. Most recently, she served as deputy communications director for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger from 2006 to 2008. Prior to that, Ashford worked for the Administrative Office of the Courts as a communications specialist from 2004 to 2005. Previously, she worked as public relations manager for the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, as corporate communications editor for CMP Media and as a consultant at the United Nations. Ashford earned a Masters degree from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $120,000. Ashford is a Democrat.
Martin Hoshino, 44, of Folsom, has been appointed executive director for the Board of Parole Hearings. He has served in the office of internal affairs at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation since 2003 and currently holds the position of assistant secretary. From 2000 to 2003, Hoshino was chief assistant inspector general for the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and, from 1999 to 2000, was assistant inspector general for OIG. He worked for the State Controller's Office from 1988 to 1999 and held the positions of project manager from 1996 to 1999, telecommunications manager from 1992 to 1996 and staff analyst from 1988 to 1992. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $144,996. Hoshino is a Democrat.
