Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an order today cutting the pay of approximately 200,000 state workers.
The governor ordered workers’ pay to be changed to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour in response to California’s fiscal crisis.
The order also eliminated 22,000 part-time and temporary state positions.
State Controller John Chiang, who is responsible for issuing state workers’ paychecks, said he will defy the governor’s order and issue workers their regular paychecks, according to a press release issued by Chiang’s office.
“The authority to issue people’s paychecks is mine. I have both constitutional and statutory authority,” Chiang said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The governor said in his executive order that the changes were necessary to avoid a greater financial crisis statewide.
“As a result of the late budget, there is a real and substantial risk that the state will have insufficient cash to pay for state expenditures,” Schwarzenegger said in the executive order.
Legislators have yet to agree upon a fiscal budget a month after the state’s fiscal year began. The state budget was due July 1 and is still in negotiation with the governor and legislators.
Party lawmakers remain divided on the spending plan and face a $15.2-billion deficit, according to The Associated Press.
The executive order exempts public safety agencies that are “directly related to the preservation and protection of human life and safety” but will take effect everywhere else. Regular state workers would get regular pay plus backpay once a new budget is signed.
Compiled from Bruin wire services.