Tired of state budgets that were several months late, the ridiculous and embarrassing shenanigans of the state assembly and senate, and IOU's being issued in lieu of checks, California voters passed an initiative that said politicians could not be paid unless state budgets were passed on time.
Under Proposition 25, lawmakers don't get paid their salary or living expenses if they miss the deadline. In a smarmy attempt to get paid, they passed a budget on June 15 that, among other things, included a short fall of $1.3 Billion in school funding.
Governor Jerry Brown quickly, and rightly so, vetoed the budget submitted.
Wait, it gets better.
California state Controller John Chiang announced Tuesday he was halting pay for state lawmakers, saying their budget plan was not balanced and did not meet the state's requirement for them to be paid.
Chiang, a Democrat whose office issues paychecks, found the package did not meet the constitutional requirements for a balanced budget. A statement from the controllers offices is simple and to the point: "My office's careful review of the recently passed budget found components that were miscalculated, miscounted or unfinished. The numbers simply did not add up, and the Legislature will forfeit their pay until a balanced budget is sent to the governor."
AWESOME!
