Leaders from both houses of the Legislature have now rejected Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to force state workers to take a pay cut this summer.

Assembly and Senate leaders announced a unified budget pact Wednesday that encourages the state’s unions to negotiate pay reductions to help address California’s projected $54 billion budget deficit, but does not require them to give concessions.

It’s similar to a plan the Senate Budge Committee approved last week.

Three weeks ago, Newsom proposed reducing state workers’ pay by 10 percent and canceling the raises many are scheduled to receive in July, which would have saved the state about $3.6 billion.

Newsom’s plan called for cutting workers’ pay in July with or without union agreements. The plan released by Assembly and Senate leaders promotes collective bargaining and doesn’t count on any specific amount in savings.

“We encourage the administration and all the state unions to discuss the governor’s proposal,” Assembly Budget Committee Chairman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, said in a Wednesday call with reporters. “We think it’s very important during this time. We’re facing tough fiscal situations. We think it’s important for people to come to the table.”

In general, the Assembly and Senate plans depend on digging deeper into reserves and relying more heavily on borrowing than Newsom’s proposal does. The Legislature and the governor face a June 15 deadline to reach agreement and pass a balanced budget.

Newsom said Monday that the differences between his proposal and the Senate’s, including those related to state pay, are all part of the “give and take” of the budget process.

“We continue to have very robust and very, very positive conversations,” he said.

The unions have been negotiating pay cuts with Newsom’s bargaining team under a June 12 deadline the administration gave them.

SEIU Local 1000 President Yvonne Walker said in a Tuesday video message to the union’s members that the administration had proposed two personal leave program days. That would reduce workers’ pay each month by the amount they earn in two days in exchange for two days of leave.

The program is similar to furloughs but workers get to choose the days off.

Walker said the union countered with a proposal to reduce the program to one personal leave day combined with other changes.

Many state workers are scheduled to receive raises in July under agreements their unions negotiated last year and in earlier years. Newsom proposed canceling those raises in addition to reducing pay, unless the state receives help from the federal government.

Newsom’s proposal would restore workers’ pay and their raises if the state receives federal money. His proposal included similar triggers for other spending cuts, including those to education.

The Legislature’s plans presume the state will receive $14 billion from the federal government. If the money doesn’t come, the Legislature’s plans would trigger cuts on Oct. 1.

This story was originally published June 4, 2020 at 6:00 AM.