State Controller John Chiang has once again stood up for state workers. In a short statement issued Dec. 19, Chiang criticized the governor's executive order, saying it was the painful result of the governor's and Legislature's failure to resolve the budget crisis. "It is clear that the governor's executive order would hurt public servants and in turn adversely impact our economy and slow its recovery," he wrote.

In a letter dated Dec. 23, Chiang proposed the federal government authorize a limited guaranty program for state or local infrastructure bonds to help jump-start the economy. He said the proposal could "prevent the cancellation of important state and local government projects. ... Local economies recover when people are put back to work and physical assets are created." I

n a Dec. 22 letter,  Chiang warned the governor and Legislature and the state is less than 70 days from running out of cash. He characterizing the state's financial crisis as "dire."

Democratic leaders negotiating with the governor say the negotiations have "significantly narrowed" and a deal is "very close," The Sacramento Bee reports. Talks are continuing over the weekend by phone with the governor, who is vacationing in Idaho, and Democrats are hopeful a deal will be approved by the end of next week.

After refusing to sign a budget plan put forth by Democrats, Gov. Schwarzenegger yesterday ordered furloughs for state employees and "surplus" notices for the state's 20 percent least senior workers. Furloughs will begin Feb. 1 for rank and file and supervisors, Jan. 15 for managers and exempts, and will continue through June 30, 2010. Surplused workers will be subject to layoff, transfer or demotion beginning 120 days after receiving their notices.

Reaction to the measure has been strong. In an eblast yesterday to members, ACSS President Olin King said the order "won’t come close to resolving the deficit. This is showboating of the highest order.” He added: “It is counter to what President-Elect Obama is doing. Obama is trying to create jobs and the governor’s creating unemployment.”

We are protesting this unfair order and urge you to use our Legislative Action Center, at left, to tell the governor and the media your thoughts. We believe the governor and Legislature should focus on cutting expenses and increasing revenue, not on -- yet again -- placing an unfair burden on state workers.

The Republican legislative leaders released their plan to close the budget shortfall late Monday. Total cuts: $22 billion. They maintain the governor's proposed day-a-month furlough for state workers and the loss of two paid holidays. They also propose legislators take a 5 percent paycut. Here are lists of the plan's specific revenues and cuts.

The Legislature will meet today at 3 p.m. in a rare joint session to hear the latest news on the state's bleak financial outlook. The expected speakers will be State Treasurer Bill Lockyer, Controller John Chiang, Department of Finance Director Mike Genest and Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor. In her radio adress this week, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass said the session would "help lay the groundwork for objective, bipartisan solutions."

A Sacramento Bee editorial this morning calls for the state to eliminate reported "money-wasters." The comments were based on a Nov. 20 state auditor's report on the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board.

According to a survey by the National Conference of State Legislators, 15 states are forecasting double-digit budget gaps in 2010, and two of them have bigger deficits than California's. Arizona is projecting a 24 percent gap and New York is projecting 20 percent, compared with 18 percent for California. Other states have instituted hiring freezes, banned travel and frozen wages.

The Sacramento Bee has calculated the budget deficit, based on $11.2 billion, equals $429 for every California adult. The Bee asked readers what impact giving the state $429 from their personal budgets would have on their lives, and we'd like to know our members' answers to the same question. Would you forgo that amount if it meant being able to balance the budget? What would you give up? Tell us at lholderness@calcsea.org or in the comments section of this blog. To access "Comments," you'll need to register. You won't be giving up any of your $429; registering is free.

Here are a few Bee responses: "Changing phone service and parking the RV." "Cutting out cable TV." "Staying home next summer." "Not donating to the grandkids' college fund." "Living on cat food." Several said they'd give the money if they knew it would be well spent.

It didn't take new Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg long to nearly fill the roster of Senate committee chairmen, reports Sacramento Bee Alert. In his second day in office, Steinberg named all but two of them. ACSS supported many of the appointees. Sen. Christine Kehoe, who will head the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, spoke at our July board meeting in San Diego. Steinberg -- a former CSEA attorney -- will head the Rules committee. The Agriculture and Veterans Affairs chairmen, both now Republicans, still must be named.

The California Budget Project reports that the number of unemployed Californians rose by half a million this past year. The nonpartisan CBP independently analyzes state financial data and their effect on California residents.

A new report from the Legislative Analyst's Office says in its introduction: "The state’s revenue collapse is so dramatic and the underlying economic factors are so weak that we forecast huge budget shortfalls through 2013-14 absent corrective action." The only hope the state has, the report says, is to "begin laying the groundwork now." The report does suggest some solutions (click on the headline to read them here). The LAO on Nov. 11 also issued an assessment of the governor's proposals.

You, as a state worker, now face a 5 percent pay cut and the loss of two paid holidays. Are the legislators who will vote on the budget proposal also taking cuts? They're not. The governor doesn't control the legislators' pay, so the proposed cuts don't affect them. This has riled many state workers, according to Jon Ortiz's The State Worker column in The Sacramento Bee today. What do you think? We'd like to hear your opinions, at lholderness@calcsea.org, and probably so would Jon at jortiz@sacbee.com.

State workers take a couple of hits in the Sacramento Bee this morning. A source quoted in The State Worker column says he has no sympathy for a "measly 5 percent" paycut. A measure just passed in Orange County indicates the feeling may be widespread and could bear ominous consequences  To respond to the article, email jortiz@sacbee.com. The State Worker blog asks a disturbing question: Does the state have too many managers and supervisors? We encourage you to post a response. 

In what is probably good news for state workers, the governor's budget plan apparently isn't likely to pass as proposed -- or any time soon. The governor's plan to close the $11 billion gap puts an unfair burden on state workers. "Don't bet on" solving the crisis in this session, writes the San Francisco Chronicle today. The plan is a "collection of already rejected ideas, supported by almost no one," says The Sacramento Bee.

No surprise: State workers are steaming over Gov. Schwarzenegger's proposals to cut their pay and eliminate holidays, writes The State Worker columnist Jon Ortiz of The Sacramento Bee. In his long list of proposed cuts, the governor wants to furlough state workers one day a month for 19 months, ax two paid holidays, end overtime pay for working on holidays and reduce overtime compensation. He also wants to raise the sales tax to more than 9 percent and tax additional services. ACSS is opposing the cuts on state workers. Today's Bee also publishes the details of the budget plan, with reactions. They're worth checking out.