Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg on Tuesday urged his fellow senators to agree to a voluntary 5 percent salary cut effective July 1.
"As we grapple with tough choices to bring our 2009-10 state budget back into balance, the Senate must also make adjustments to the Senate's operating budget," Steinberg, D-Sacramento says in the letter addressed to senators and Senate staff.
Under the state constitution, only the California Citizens Compensation Commission can set legislative pay. The panel has ordered an 18 percent reduction, but it will not go into effect until late 2010, after the next class of lawmakers is elected.
"Though the Senate Rules Committee cannot impose a salary reduction on the members of the Senate, I am relying on my Senate colleagues to join me in taking a 5 percent salary reduction," Steinberg wrote.
The Senate's goal is to cut its operating costs by 10 percent, or about $10 million this coming fiscal year, which starts in July. Steinberg also said he will push a hiring freeze in the upper house and a 5 percent pay cut for employees making more than $50,000 a year.
"Please understand that what I am proposing is consistent and responsive to the state's current crisis situation," he wrote.
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