Minimum Wage for California State Employees? Arnie Says Yes

Schwarzenegger claims that without an approved budget, the state would face a cash crisis and the only way to avoid that is to slash workers’ pay. He also says a 2003 court decision gives him the authority to cut workers’ pay through an executive order, a draft of which was uncovered last week, which also called for laying off 20,000 part-time, temporary and intern state workers.

Chiang and others say the governor does not have that authority and Chiang reports the state has enough money on hand to pay all of its bills through September.

Schwarzenegger’s pay cut threat is part of the battle between the legislature and the governor over enacting a state budget that would close a $15.2 billion budget deficit. Schwarzenegger and Republican legislators want to close the gap by deep cuts in public services, including education, child care, public safety and other working family programs.