One more lawsuit, one more waste of time and money, neither of which cash-strapped California has.
Proposition 25, enacted by popular vote in 2010, authorized the state Controller to withhold pay from California legislators in the event that they failed to pass a balanced budget.
Chiang deemed that last year's budget failed the "fiscally sound" test, and therefore refused to issue the California Legislature their paychecks. Governor Brown also vetoed the bill.
The point of contention in the lawsuit is not the money which the legislators did not receive, but the power which Chiang exercised, in that he unilaterally declared the budget unacceptable.
Despite the apparent overreach of one department official in Sacramento, this executive efficiency is the kind of leadership that the Golden State has been hoping for and longing for too long. Like a bunch of lazy students cramming together a crappy essay in the wee hours of the day that the assignment is due, Sacramento legislators chose to cram a bad budget down the throats of the Governor and the citizens of California, trying to beat a deadline and get their (undeserved pay). The legislators' accounting gimmicks, rosy projections, and unbacked borrowing have deepened the financial mess dragging the state into bankruptcy. Controller Chiang simply held the legislature accountable for producing an acceptable budget, one that would not require hunting necessary funds or ignoring the blunt and painful obvious: state politician will not summon the political will to make the necessary cuts to save the state, which will certain cost them their political careers.
State Controller John Chiang did the right thing. It is reprehensible that the legislators of California are bickering over receiving their pay later than expected, especially as their lack of fiscal responsibility and oversight have bled the state draw with unfunded pension liabilities, entitlement spending run amok, and taxation that has scared away businesses and investment.
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