Sen. Evans: Pay ban creates constitutional crisis

<p>Some California legislators Tuesday denounced State Controller John Chiang's decision to dock their paychecks, saying he had upset the balance of power in Sacramento.</p><p>But others dismissed the issue as a distraction from the far more important work of hammering out a budget deal with few tools and huge challenges ahead.</p><p>Sen. Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, was one of the sharpest critics of Chiang's decision, declaring he had “precipitated a constitutional crisis” that had caused the separation between the legislative and the executive branches to be “breached.”</p><p>“By inserting himself into the budgeting process and substituting his judgment for the Legislature's, the State Controller has set a dangerous legal precedent,” Evans said in a written statement.</p><p>Chiang announced earlier in the day that legislators had failed to meet a voter-approved requirement to approve a balanced budget by June 15. </p><p>“My office's careful review of the recently passed budget found components that were miscalculated, miscounted or unfinished,” Chiang said in a statement. “The numbers simply did not add up, and the Legislature will forfeit their pay until a balanced budget is sent to the governor.”</p><p>Chiang, a Democrat, said he determined that the budget plan pushed through the Legislature by Democrats authorized spending of $89.75 billion but provided $87.9 billion in revenues, leaving a $1.85 billion deficit. </p><p>Lawmakers said they believed the budget they passed allowed them to continue receiving paychecks even though Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed the package, saying he didn't want to see billions more in borrowing or questionable maneuvers.</p><p>Chiang said he concluded legislators did not meet the requirement for getting paid under Proposition 25 approved by voters in November.</p><p>Under the proposition, lawmakers don't get their salary or living expenses if they miss the budget deadline. Chiang said that the state Constitution gives the controller authority to judge whether revenues matched or exceeded state spending.</p><p>Lawmakers can start receiving their salaries and expenses again once they pass a balanced budget. They will not be retroactively paid for the days the budget was late.</p><p>Each day, California taxpayers save $48,603.50 by not paying lawmakers a salary and per diem. For most lawmakers, who earn $95,291 a year, that works out to $261 less for each day their salary is cut. For leaders of the Senate and Assembly, who make $109,584, that works out to $300 a day. Most lawmakers also lose out on a $142 per diem for travel and living expenses paid when the Legislature is in session.</p><p>Some lawmakers said the pay issue was secondary to the task of getting a budget passed.</p><p>Assemblyman Michael Allen, D-Santa Rosa, said while he has concerns about one branch of government withholding pay from another, his focus needs to stay on the ongoing budget talks </p><p>“OK. Deep breath. Let's go back to work,” Allen said shortly before heading into an afternoon meeting with Governor Jerry Brown. “Ultimately, people just want to know, 'Are we going to have our budget?'”</p><p>Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, called the issue a “distraction” from the budget challenges.</p><p>The meeting with the governor was “spirited and long,” Huffman said. He believes the governor is coming to the realization that the $9.6 billion budget gap may need to be tackled over two years instead of one, he said.</p><p>“If taking more time and working with the governor can leverage a better budget plan, I'm all for it — whether I get paid or not,” Huffman said.</p><p>Proposition 25, approved in November by voters, was born out of frustration with California's regularly late budgets, which stalled pay for some state workers and vendors. The measure also allowed the Legislature to pass a budget on a simple majority vote rather than the previous two-thirds requirement. It did not change the two-thirds requirement for raising taxes, however.</p><p>Chiang's decision marks the first time the initiative has been put to use.</p><p>Few other states have late budget problems, said Artery Perez of the National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver. Only New York and Guam withhold pay from lawmakers if they fail to meet their budget deadline, he said.</p><p>Chiang's analysis found much of the budget's imbalance comes from underfunding education by $1.3 billion. Underfunding is not possible without suspending the state's education funding law, which would require a two-thirds vote of the Legislature. That was not done.</p><p>The budget also counted on hospital fees, taxes on managed-care plans and vehicle registration charges, but the Legislature never passed the bills needed to collect those revenues, Chiang said.</p><p>Brown urged legislators to move past the issue as quickly as possible.</p><p>“The controller has made his determination. We should all work together to pass a solid budget,” Brown said.</p><p>But that may be hard for some Democratic lawmakers to do. Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles, said Chiang decided to withhold pay for political reasons.</p><p>“I halted a fulfilling private-sector career path to enter public service. I now have to explain to my wife and daughter that we won't be able to pay the bills because a politician chose to grandstand at our expense,” Gatto said.</p>