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WORLD> America
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Lawmakers in hard-up Calif. boost staff pay
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-08-17 22:49 Joe Kocurek, a spokesman for Saldana, said the lawmaker's elevation this year to a leadership role and to chairwoman of the Legislative Women's Caucus made the pay increases necessary. He said several staff members had not received raises in two years, while others were promoted to higher positions. "We felt it necessary to maintain experienced and dedicated staff rather than lose them to other opportunities," Kocurek said in an e-mailed statement.
"There may be a few exceptions, but just generally they have to be thinking more about PR than thinking about their staff," he said. "Of course, it's an infinitesimal amount of money in the big picture, but it's the symbol of it. It doesn't matter what they've cut." Murphy, spokeswoman for the Assembly speaker, said the Assembly has cut $42 million from its budget over a 2 1/2-year period, including nearly 13 percent from its $149.4 million 2009-10 budget. She said that was more than the 10 percent Schwarzenegger asked legislative leaders to cut this fiscal year and more than the state Senate trimmed. Murphy defended the pay increases by saying legislative employees are working harder than ever. She said the cuts in the Assembly's 2009-10 budget are nearly double what would have been saved by furloughing staffers three days each month. "The pay adjustments going to Assembly staff, who have taken new jobs or duties, are about 1 percent of the reductions we've made," Murphy said. "The Assembly's budget is down, the number of Assembly staff positions is down and the Assembly payroll is down." The state Senate has cut less on a percentage basis than the Assembly. It is expected to cut $9.6 million of its $111.3 million annual budget in the current fiscal year, said Jim Evans, a spokesman for Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento. The AP's review showed there were nine pay increases in the Senate during the first six months of 2009. "The Senate is on a strict hiring freeze and salary freeze. Any change of salary has been due to an increase in the number of hours the employee is working," said Alicia Trost, a spokeswoman for Steinberg. Documents from Schwarzenegger's office showed the administration payroll falling from 154 employees earning a total of $955,746 a month to 147 employees earning $825,157 at the end of June, as employees were ordered to take two-a-month furlough days. "We believe that just as the administration has been doing, all parts of state government need to cut back," said Aaron McLear, Schwarzenegger's spokesman. "The governor believes we should continue to look for ways to cut back but is confident the Legislature shares that priority."
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