Reuters
Posted on 09/08/2006 7:56:00 AM PDT by calcowgirl
Without the knowledge of most state lawmakers, a last-minute bill amendment that allows Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to approximately double the salaries of his top appointees was slipped into a legislation ratifying a new contract with California Highway Patrol officers.
The bill, which passed overwhelmingly in both houses of the Legislature, contains two short paragraphs allowing the Department of Personnel Administration to boost the pay of Schwarzenegger's Cabinet secretaries, department directors and commissioners to as much as 125 percent of the governor's salary, which climbs to $206,500 in December.
If the administration adopts the maximum increases, for example, the salaries of department heads would more than double from $123,255 to $258,125. A Schwarzenegger spokeswoman said the administration plans to increase salaries for only one or two of the 54 appointees this fiscal year.
"The frenetic pace during the last days of the session provides the perfect cover for this kind of bill. The administration and the Legislature know that paying bureaucrats $250,000 a year is not going to fly well with the public, so they bury it in a seemingly innocuous piece of legislation," said Ned Wigglesworth, spokesman of California Common Cause in Sacramento.
--snip
Lawmakers who voted both for and against the bill, which was amended one week before the end of the legislative session, expressed surprise -- and anger -- over the discovery of the salary increase provision.
Assemblyman Ray Haynes, R-Murrieta (Riverside County), ... said he knew nothing about the Cabinet salary increase provision.
"That's an abuse of the process. It should have been put in a separate bill and been voted on separately instead of shoehorning it into this completely unrelated bill," Haynes said.
The assemblyman who wrote the legislation, AB2936, said . . . the salary increase provision was sought by the administration . . .
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
That's nice. Government bow wows do so much for the little people.
Better that Arnie gives raises than sexually harasses them like he use to! :)
It isn't the salary of department heads that's the real problem (in competition with the private sector, 125K isn't going to come close to buying you a skilled administrator), it's the number of state employees overall which is much too high.
Ping to article. Gray Davis on Steroids.
Here's a link to the bill (See masked language in Sec. 5, buried in between paragraphs about the CHP officers)
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/asm/ab_2901-2950/ab_2936_bill_20060829_amended_sen.html
And a link to the listing of job positions in the Government Code.
--The were identified in the legislation as only "officers and employees listed in Sections 11550, 11552, and 11554"
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=gov&group=11001-12000&file=11550-11564.5
and FReepers thought they were voting for a "fiscal conservative"...
Hope everyone is happy,
'cause you've got another four years to go with this clown.
"Here's another nice mess you've gotten me into." Oliver Hardy
In most places, that should buy you a quite capable adminsitrator especially considering the benefits on top of it. 54 positions at $258K? They couldn't justify this as competitive if compared to private industry, IMO.
glad I hadn't eaten breakfast yet.
"The horror of a rogue Republican... The horror of a rogue Republican... The horror of a rogue Republican..." (SierraWasp on FreeRepublic.com CA Governor thread, 9/8/06 in abject disgust!!!)
Absolutely! Makes Davis look like a slacker!!!
I think it's nearly time for another Recall, but this time, done right!!!
Lets see if Fair Opinion and the rest of Arnold's amen corner come spinning to the rescue.
Couldn't resist, Wasp...
Reuters
Oh really? Whatever... (yawn)
Well, actually, upon your editing... I agree with you!!!
No doubt Rinold will be giving raises to one or two of his Democrat friends, just, you know, to reach out.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.