by Bob Walsh
By law the legislature of the formerly great state of California has until June 15 to send a more-or-less balanced budget to the Governor, who then has 15 days to tweak it and sign it, or send it back. (If they don't get it done on time they lose pay for the period of time represented by their inteptitude.)
Governor Newsom is playing hardball (maybe-probably) with the unions that represent the vast majority of state workers, telling them effectively that if they do not take a 10% pay cut there will be layoffs, including in the public safety sectors. (Typically the CHP has been exempt from such threats due to their symbiotic relationship with powerful members of the legislature. That may not be true this time around.) Newsom is asserting the state is looking at a $54 billion shortfall. He may even be right.
There may be some reason to believe that the Governor is merely trying to panic people with the notion that wildfire and law enforcement protection will be drastically cut if the salary cut is not agreed to. He also may be trying to squeeze the Orange Man into giving CA some free money. I am unsure how well that will work. He is already working to further cut Dept. of Corrections jobs by shutting down prisons so I am unsure if my old stomping grounds will be safe from cuts or not.
The closer it gets to June 15 the more definite everybody's positions will become.
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