State Worker column: A mailing snafu at CDCR has caused layoffs to be delayed a month. Cost to the state: $7 million. And federal mail regulations may have been violated.

The Sacramento Bee reports this morning that the Legislative Analyst's Office is recommending that lawmakers go along with the governor's proposal to cut state employee pay, saying the state's fiscal distress warrants the action. Read the LAO report here.

At its January board meeting, the ACSS board of directors unanimously agreed to pursue possible legal action related to the furlough of its members. We've developed a survey to help our chief counsel gather information for this potential lawsuit. You may have received this survey in your email; if not, please click on the survey link and answer a few questions here. The survey is short and your answers will be kept confidential. Please note: As referred to in the survey, "self-directed" furlough means you could choose the days you took your furlough time off rather than having those days determined for you (such as the first three Fridays the governor has now ordered).

Sending emails to your legislators or the governor, or national representatives, is easy with our "Contact Your Legislators" button, at left. When you press the button, you get a form asking for your address or Zip code. Once you've filled in the information, the email links to your representatives automatically appear. Write your reps today to tell them how you feel about the burdens the governor has placed on you and all excluded employees!

During 2010, ACSS members will be reimbursed for mileage used on behalf of the organization at 50 cents a mile. ACSS follows the federal guidelines for mileage reimbursement. To access our ACSS information blog items, click on "Info for Members" under "Blog Topics" to the left of the home page. Our information items are collected there for easy review.

The Secretary of State's office has OK'd three initiatives that would cut public pensions to begin the signature-gathering phase to qualify for the November ballot. The State Worker blog item contains informational links.

Fourteen unions and state worker associations, including ACSS, wrote a letter to legislative leaders asking them to support AB 1125, which would require state workers continue to be paid their full salaries if the budget is delayed. The State Worker looks at the grim issue.

A San Francisco judge has ruled against the California Association of Professional Scientists in its furlough lawsuit against the governor, saying that CAPS didn't present sufficient evidence to show the governor had abused his discretion.

After a "wild ride" last year, with stock markets plunging early in the year, CalPERS reports it earned an 11.80 percent return on its investments for 2009. The market value of CalPERS' assets has come back by $46 billion.

CalPERS will hold two daylong discussions on the future of public pension plans: Jan. 29 at the Sacramento Convention Center and Feb. 12 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Local, state and national retirement experts will discuss solutions that balance the need for reasonable retirement benefits with economic and fiscal realities.

The just-published Winter 2010 Today's Supervisor has been posted on this Web site under the "Newsroom" tab. Did you know your license plates were made at Folsom Prison? On the cover, you'll see a rare glimpse of the inside of the busy, colorful prison license plate factory, overseen by board member Carlos Chavez. You can read about this and other prison industries inside.

The ACSS board of directors, at its quarterly meeting Jan. 16, unanimously adopted a strategic plan that will guide the organization, the chapters and the members into a more dynamic future. We will report on this plan in various formats in the weeks to come. In the meantime, check out our PowerPoint outline.

The governor won one Friday: The San Francisco appeals court ruled that state Controller John Chiang cannot restore correctional officers to full pay for the time they work -- despite the fact an Alameda judge ruled in December that the "self-directed" furloughs at prisons violate labor law. The debate will continue: The CCPOA has until Thursday to file more arguments.

In her column this week (at left), ACSS President Arlene Espinoza exposes the dishonesty in the governor's Jan. 8 letter to state employees and calls for ACSS members to write the governor and tell him how you feel about the unfair burden he has placed on his state's management team. Send copies to your legislators and please copy ACSS as well. We would like to share some of your remarks.

For a brief round-up of some pertinent state worker issues, see this morning's State Worker blog: A food-for-thought letter on the mathematics of the governor's proposed pay cut; the controversy over Controller John Chiang's vow to pay correctional officers; Assembly committee approval to allow BOE workers to move; the $500,000-plus payments, so far, to one law firm to fight the furlough lawsuits.

ACSS will respond strongly to the governor's Jan. 8 letter to state employees in which he outlines his new program to cut state workers' compensation. The furloughs will go away, as planned, but in its place state workers will lose 5 percent of their salary to a pay cut and another 5 percent to retirement contributions. Layoffs also are possible. For a statement from ACSS President Arlene Espinoza, go here.

ACSS President Arlene Espinoza was one of 13 signers on a letter to (then)-Asembly Speaker Karen Bass and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg supporting AB 1125. The bill, by Ed Hernandez, calls for the state to pay state workers their full salaries if there is no budget in place by the June 15 deadline. Without this bill, the governor could reduce state workers' pay to federal minimum wage until the budget passes. Read the bill here.

In the wake of its latest trouble – scary elevators – the head of BOE has persuaded legislators to co-author a bill authorizing his agency to leave its building for a safer one. The BOE building has been plagued with leaks, floods, mold and falling windows. A Sacramento Bee story is here. The proposed bill, AB151, is here.

State workers are calling the governor's proposal to trade furloughs for pay cuts a "terrible deal."

The Assembly Budget Committee has released its summary of the governor's proposed 2010-2011 budget. The bullet points addressing compensation/benefits for state workers are on page 39 (small-file pdf document).

Declaring a budget emergency, Gov. Schwarzenegger today proposed ending the furloughs June 30 as planned but trading them for a combination of cuts that add up to 10 percent: a permanent 5 percent pay cut and another 5 percent toward retirement benefits. The latter move would double the amount state workers contribute toward their retirement. The proposal means state employees would get some immediate relief -- 10 percent cut instead of the current 14.2 percent -- but could lose a small amount of their retirement income. Departments also are being asked to cut their personnel budgets by 5 percent. Sacramento Bee story here. The text (and video) of the governor's speech are here. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg's response to the governor's speech is here.

The Capitol Weekly gives a sneak preview of how the governor might target state workers in his budget speech tomorrow. Whatever his plan, the article says, state workers will "continue to feel the squeeze." Some rumors: The furlough will end but may be replaced by layoffs and a 5 percent pay cut. The pay cuts would affect retirement contributions and ultimate pensions. The governor cannot cut pay; that step requires bargaining agreements. The state budget shortage for the next 18 months is estimated to be nearly $21 billion.

Here are a few more links to information related to Gov. Schwarzenegger's state of the state speech this morning: governor's press release; a statement on the governor's tax and pension reform plan; governor's jobs and economy plan.

In his final state of the state speech today, Gov. Schwarzenegger urged lawmakers to reform the state pension system, creating a two-tier system that would change only for new hires. Pensions for current employees could not "legally and morally" be changed, he said. He also proposed a constitutional guarantee California would never spend more money on prisons than schools and said he supported a simple majority, rather than two-thirds, vote to pass a budget. Read a Sacramento Bee story here. The governor is expected to present his budget on Jan. 8.

Examiner.com, of San Francisco, reports a commissioner of the Social Security Administration issued a statement praising the recent rulings by the Alameda Superior Court that the governor's furloughs are unlawful. The commissioner said the furloughs cost the states money. Specifically, the furlough of Disability Determination Service employees costs the state $849,000 a DAY in administrative funding and $420,000 a DAY in needed SS benefits. SSA funds 100 percent of DDS employees' salaries and overhead costs. There's more: Read the full statement here.

The Sacramento Bee has published a database of whom in state government interest groups lobbied and how much they spent doing it for the first nine months of 2009. Their total outlay? $206 million.

DPA is announcing a special dental open-enrollment period from Jan. 4 through Feb. 4 to allow state workers to add same-sex spouses to their dental plans. The couples must have a valid marriage license. If the same-sex spouse is not enrolled by Feb. 4, coverage will not be offered again until the next open-enrollment period. Read the DPA memo here (pdf). Read our earlier blog post on the eligibility of same-sex couples for state benefits here.

From its Web site, SEIU Local 1000 gives its reaction to the ruling Thursday that the governor's furloughs are illegal.

State unions fear the governor may order massive layoffs in the wake of court rulings that the furloughs were illegal. A Sacramento Bee editorial says the possibility of layoffs means "there's no reason to celebrate" the ruling.

From The Sacramento Bee: An Alameda Superior Court judge has ordered that furloughs be stopped for members of three public-sector unions, including SEIU, In part, the judge said the emergency necessitating the furloughs was the failure to pass the budget and, therefore, the furloughs should have been discontinued when the budget was passed. The governor's office says he will appeal the ruling. We will update this story as we have more information. Until then, Bee reporter Andrew McIntosh would like to talk to state workers about this ruling; contact him at amcintosh@sacbee.com. Link to the rulings here (the three are separate): SEIU; UAPD; CASE. (Original story was replaced with update Jan. 1.)

The CalPERS board at its December meeting tightened rules regulating board interaction with CalPERS staff concerning investment proposals. The board also gave its president the authority to discipline board members whose actions violate policy and is requiring members to attend anual training to detail their responsibilities.

Darrell Steinberg, Senate President Pro Tem, told The Sacramento Bee Capitol Alert last week that the first place he'll look for cost savings next year is the state prisons. He supports reserving state prisons for those who committed violent and serious crimes and letting those convicted of less serious crimes do their time in other jail systems. He also said he hopes to eliminate ineffectual tax credits and close tax loopholes. The state is facing a $21 billion deficit over the next 18 months.

The State Worker column this morning speculates on ways the governor could retract his plan to extend furloughs for state workers. Some are less fanciful than others.

In breaking news, The Sacramento Bee is reporting that the governor's 2010 budget plan will keep furloughs for state workers and include layoff options and perhaps shifting some general fund workers into positions financed with other revenues. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said he hopes to "curtain the number of furlough days and shift the burden of cost savings away from state employees." Gov. Schwarzenegger will present his budget plan the first week of January. (This link was updated to an expanded story Dec. 24.)

Members of same-sex couples who married in states where same-sex marriage is legal and who are dependents of a CalPERS member will be eligible for state health, vision and dental coverage beginning Jan. 1. Read full story here. Read the text of SB54, authorizing the coverage, here.

Updated story from The Sacramento Bee: An Alameda Superior Court judge has ruled the furloughs are illegal for state correctional officers whose pay is reduced but who have to wait to take their time off. The CCPOA had argued that the furloughs violated a labor law that stipulates compensation at 24/7 facilities be paid within a given pay cycle. The decision doesn't invalidate the furloughs but requires the officers be paid back wages. Three other furlough cases are awaiting decision.

With many families hurting financially this year, the state controller's office has launched a new Web site, "Your Finances, Your Future," to help Californians make better decisions about managing their money. The site promises to help you improve your personal financial skills, save more, plan better for big purchases and avoid too much credit card debt, among other topics. State Controller John Chiang notes that his own immigrant family endured financial challenges during his childhood.

The CalPERS board Wednesday approved an increase in the state's contribution to the pension fund that is far lower than the governor wants, forcing the governor now to plead his case to the Legislature.

It hasn't been a good year for SEIU Local 1000. Now the union's hand-picked candidate, Cathy Hackett, has lost the CalPERS board runoff to J.J. Jelincic, a former California State Employees Association president (today's State Worker column).

The CalPERS Health Benefits Committee today approved a recommendation to raise premiums between 15 and 22 percent in 2010 for its long-term care program. The program now has a deficit of nearly 33 percent. The long-term care program is voluntary and funded entirely through enrollee premium payments.

Three years into an expensive overhaul of state prison health care, the state in 2008 spent $60 million on health care overtime. Many medical staffers are working 16- and 18-hour shifts; the average is 12 hours. Spending on medical temps is another issue: Doctors who are not state employees have made as much as $527 an hour. Read The Sacramento Bee's two-part series on prison medical staffing: Part 1 and Part 2.

J.J. Jelincic has defeated Cathy Hackett in the runoff election for a CalPERS board seat, according to several sources. The count: 109,088 votes to 104,656. Jelincic has worked for CalPERS for 23 years and is a past president of CSEA.

The Department of Personnel Administration (PML 2009-045) announced a new state personal vehicle mileage reimbursement rate of 50 cents a mile for all state employees except those in bargaining unit 6, effective Jan. 1.

The State Worker column today does the math. Meg Whitman's assertion that public employees can retire at 50 or 55 with virtually full salaries means they'd have to start working in kindergarten.

Because of the furloughs, aspiring drivers in Sacramento are finding it nearly impossible to make an appointment for their driving tests. Some end up waiting so long they have to take – and pay for – their written tests again.

On some Furlough Fridays, Squaw Valley is giving state workers "the lowest price in town": $49 to ski all day. The valid dates are Dec. 11, Jan. 8 and 22, Feb. 5 and 19, March 5, 12 and 19, April 2, 9 and 16 (or, the site notes, until "the current budget issues are resolved"). You must present an ID or current pay stub.

Gov. Schwarzenegger's aides have told CalPERS the governor will raise the state's annual CalPERS contribution in the next fiscal year to $4.8 billion, an increase of about $1.5 billion. CalPERS had suggested a much smaller rate hike. Unions and employee groups are charging that Schwarzenegger is trying to create momentum for a two-tier pension system, which he supports.

From The Sacramento Bee: The Franchise Tax Board has asked for a furlough exemption for its employees for the year after furloughs are supposed to end. Is that a signal the furloughs will continue or, as, an FTB spokesman says, "just planning."

The State Worker blog reports on a Meg Whitman speech Tuesday to the Sacramento County Republican Party. Hint: She wants changes similar to those called for in the California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility initiative now in the signature-gathering stage: A two-tier pension system, higher retirement ages and lower payouts. The blog includes a clip of Whitman's speech.

You have just a short timeto get your ballot postmarked in the CalPERS board of administration runoff election between J.J. Jelincic and Cathy Hackett. The deadline is today. The vote count will begin Dec. 11 and results should be posted online in mid-December.