From the State Worker blog: Both bills of interest to ACSS members, AB 790 and SBX8 29, cleared hurdles in the Senate today. AB 790 passed the Senate Public Employees & Retirement Committee and now goes to Senate Appropriations. This bill would ensure state workers are paid full salaries if the budget is not passed by the deadline. SBX8 29 – exempting non-General Fund positions from furlough – passed the Senate and it's on the way to the governor's desk – where he's "very likely to veto" it, a spokesman says.

On Feb. 5, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch ordered the immediate end to the furloughs and back pay for state workers whose jobs or departments are funded 5 percent or less through the general. See list of affected agencies here.

The Association of California State Supervisors has filed a Petition for Writ of Mandate in Alameda County Superior Court. The writ names Gov. Schwarzennegger, DPA and John Chiang as respondents. The writ seeks to set aside those portions of the governor’s executive order and Furlough Memo that required state agencies to furlough ACSS members and to pay ACSS members their full salaries and benefits for every hour worked at regularly established rates of pay. The case has been assigned to Judge Roesch. 

President Arlene Espinoza sent a letter today to the Department of Developmental Services opposing the closure of Lanterman Developmental Center in Pomona. The center provides 24-hour care for people with developmental disabilities. DDS announced the closure in January. ACSS is concerned for the employment of the members at Lanterman and also for the well-being of the residents.

On Thursday, March 4, teachers, students and administrators at schools and college campuses across the state will demonstrate in an attempt to convince the governor and state Legislature to spare education from further budget cuts. This is a nationwide effort. In Sacramento, there will be a rally on the north steps of the Capitol from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Sacramento Bee published a Q&A answering questions about the Alameda judge's order to end the furloughs and give state workers back pay.

State employees are being allowed to retire with more than their limit of accrued vacation time, according to a Sacramento Bee article. The cost to California is estimated at $100 million. Hundreds of employees, the article states, have received more than $100,000 each in unused vacation and other leave time.

Governor Schwarzenegger's lawyers, as expected, filed an appeal of the order to end the furloughs. The link includes further links to the court documents.

ACSS sent a floor alert ahead of the Assembly session today urging Assembly members to vote "yes" on SBX8 29. If approved, this bill would exempt state workers in jobs funded no more than 5 percent from the state general fund. The bill was introduced by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and easily passed by the Senate. Read the alert here.

One sign unions are losing ground: The number of union members in the public sector exceeded their private-sector counterparts for the first time last year. Another: Unions usually gain strength during economic slumps. Not this time. Third: The state's unions are losing in the public opinion poll.

State Worker writer Jon Ortiz reports this morning that the effort to gather signatures to place a pension-cutting initiative on the ballot is stymied by the refusal of Gov. Schwarzenegger and GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman to support it. "The governor felt he'd be a hindrance to us. Meg is not supporting us. That's pretty much it," initiative leader Marcia Fritz is quoted as saying.

A bit of optimistic news: The two proposals to reduce the pensions of public employees appear to be faltering at the signature-gathering stage. To qualify the initiatives for the ballot, the propoonents, led by Marcia Fritz of Citrus Heights, need 700,000 signatures by June 14 – and about $2 million.

FromThe Sacramento Bee: The state Senate yesterday approved SBX 8 29, a bill to exempt from furloughs thousands of state workers in departments that are funded largely by dedicated fees or the federal government. The measure would end furloughs for workers in departments that get at least 95 percent of their budget money from sources other than the general fund and would also exempt from furloughs the Board of Equalization and the Franchise Tax Board. Read the bill here.

The governor and several state employee unions have restarted contrct talks aimed at a long-shot breakthrough. Optimism is low, but both sides have an incentive to bargain, writes Sacramento Bee reporter Jon Oritz. Because supervisors and managers are excluded from bargaining, ACSS cannot negotiate with the governor.

The Franchise Tax Board's loss from the furloughs is seven times greater than its savings, according to a report issued today by the nonpartisan California Senate Office of Oversigh and Outcomes, and the Board of Equalization and constitutional offices achieved equivalent savings through budget cuts, not furloughs.

With a 4-0 vote, the Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday approved the nomination of Sen. Able Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) for lieutenant governor. Gov. Schwarzenegger nominated Maldonado to fill the position after former Lt. Gov. John Garamendi won a seat in Congress. ACSS Labor Relations Rep Tom Considine, who lives in Maldonado's district, spoke in support of the nomination. Maldonado meets frequently with state workers in his district and is interviewed on two ACSS videos praising state workers. Maldonado now must be approved by the entire Senate. The term ends this year. To continue to hold his office, he will have to run for the position in November.

The Senate Rules Committee begins hearings today on whether to confirm Republican Sen. Abel Maldonado as lieutenant governor. Maldonado, of Santa Maria, represents a district with a Democratic plurality. He broke ranks with his Republican colleagues to approve the 2009-2010 budget, and he has been supportive of state workers. ACSS President Arlene Espinoza wrote a letter to the Rules Committee members endorsing Maldonado's nomination, and Labor Rep Tom Considine, a constituent and friend of Maldonado, will testify.

Calling the state's collective bargaining process "dysfunctional," an editorial in The Sacramento Bee this morning urges the Legislature to cut state employees' pay by the 5 percent the governor is proposing. The editorial says the cuts are "a reasonable sacrifice." It also supports requiring state workers to contribute an additional 5 percent to their retirement system, calling the move "worth risking a court challenge." The editorial is in response to a Legislative Analyst's report backing the pay reductions.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.)

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.

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.

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."

Without many places left to cut, California will be scrambling to find another $20.7 billion to balance its budget over the next 19 months. A follow-up story to the Legislative Analyst's Office prediction of a continued huge deficit yesterday.

Attorney General Jerry Brown issued anopinion today supporting the salary-setting commission's move to cut legislators' salaries in mid-term. The opinion affects 20 senators. The commission voted in May to cut the salaries of legislators and statewide elected officials by 18 percent, but 20 senators claimed they would be be affected because they were in the middle of their terms.

The State Worker this morning runs down some of the consequences state workers could face as the state copes with a predicted $21 billion deficit. A sampling of possibilities: Real layoffs, no raises, a furlough extension.

California has the most polarized state Legislature in the country. According to a Sacramento Bee analysis, Democrats in the California Legislature voted with their party or abstained 99 percent of the time; Republicans voted with their party or abstained 96 percent of the time. Sen Abel Maldonado, a Republican from Santa Maria, has one of the best bipartisan records: He voted against his party 237 times, about 40 percent.

Superior Court Judge Timothy Frawley has tentative ruled not to allow furlough lawsuits to be coordinated and transferred to Sacramento. Final ruling is expected later today. Tentative rulings are rarely changed.

The Department of Personnel Administration is training its best and brightest state workers to take over top jobs as supervisors and managers become eligible to retire in large numbers. The department's "Leadership Academy" offers graduate-level courses in Sacramento. The students must interview and apply to take them.

The State Worker blog today reports this morning that the Franchise Tax Board will be closing one hour early -- at 4 p.m -- beginning Nov. 1. Reason? "Budget constraints." The blog also gives the back and forth of the SCIF bonus, which was stopped by DPA.

From calpensions.com: State Treasurer Bill Lockyer warned California at a legislative hearing that the state will go bankrupt if the pension system isn't reformed. He also said he didn't have a solution to the pension problem "other than constructive dialogue."

From Capitol Weekly: State worker pensions continue to come under attack: A group of Orange County politicos has filed two proposed ballot initiatives to bar unions from deducting money from members' paychecks for political purposes and require unions to get written permission before deducting money for political activity. Two similar initiatives were rejected in the past. A third initiative by the California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility would lower pension benefits, increase retirement age and establish a statewide pension rate.

First, the State Worker blog reported the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education had issued a study ("The High Cost of Furloughs") showing that one furlough day would have the saved the state more money than three furlough days. The Berkeley study also noted the hardship the furloughs have caused state workers and the folly of furloughing workers in revenue-generating departments. Now a San Diego Union-Tribune blog attempts to reveal the study's "shoddiness."

In failing to get a single Republican vote in the Senate, a bill to protect businesses offering discounts to laid-off and furloughed workers has died. The Assembly passed the measure 78-0. Author Gloria Negrete McLeod said she'll try again in January. The failure of the bill doesn't prevent establishments from offering discounts; the bill would have protected them from lawsuits if they do.

The Legislature has scored the lowest rating in the history of the Field Poll (26 years) with just 13 percent approving the job they're doing. The governor's approval rating was 27 percent, not quite as low as Gray Davis when he was ousted. The impact of budget cuts and furloughs is causing the drop, a Field Poll spokesman said.

Second of two-parts: The Legislature did make some cuts, and Senate staffers are furloughed one day a month, but Assembly workers are not furloughed and lawmakers did not suffer cuts as steep as state workers and offices did. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg asked senators to take a voluntary 5 percent paycut, but two did not. Speaker Karen Bass did not ask Assembly members to take the cut, and most did not. (This is a two-page story.)

Working for the Legislature can pay off: Legislative staffers can retire at 50 with only five years of service and full lifetime health benefits. And that's just the beginning. Today and tomorrow, The Sacramento Bee examines the state Legislature's budget and spending. The article includes links to a graph and a list comparing legislative benefits with the benefits state workers get.

State controller John Chiang reports that state revenues came in $1.1 billion below estimates in the first quarter of this fiscal year. "I urge lawmakers and the governor to prepare for more difficult decisions ahead," Chiang said.