Free Republic

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill Wednesday that includes a provision added in the waning days of the legislative session allowing his administration to nearly double the pay of 50 top state bosses. Under Assembly Bill 2936, the workers -- mostly heads of agencies and departments -- could get as much as 125 percent of the governor's salary, although the governor says he intends to extend the raise to only one or two officials. Schwarzenegger doesn't take his pay. But in 2007, the salary assigned to his office is scheduled to increase to $206,500. That would mean the top administrators...

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...