BILL NUMBER: SCA 8 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Maldonado
JANUARY 15, 2009
A resolution to propose to the people of the State of California
an amendment to the Constitution of the State, by amending Section 8
of Article III thereof, relating to state officer salaries.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCA 8, as introduced, Maldonado. State officer salary increases.
Existing provisions of the California Constitution direct the
California Citizens Compensation Commission to establish and adjust
the salary and benefits for Members of the Legislature and certain
other state officers.
This measure would prohibit the commission from adopting in a
fiscal year a resolution that would increase the salary of Members of
the Legislature or other state officers if the Legislative Analyst
has determined, based on General Fund revenues and expenditures, that
there exists an operating deficit in that fiscal year. The measure
also would specify that the commission may adjust the salaries and
benefits of these officials by increasing, decreasing, or maintaining
them for a particular fiscal year.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
Resolved by the Senate, the Assembly concurring, That the
Legislature of the State of California at its 2009-10 Regular Session
commencing on the first day of December 2008, two-thirds of the
membership of each house concurring, hereby proposes to the people of
the State of California that the Constitution of the State be
amended as follows:
That Section 8 of Article III thereof is amended to read:
SEC. 8. (a) The California Citizens Compensation Commission is
hereby created and shall consist of seven members appointed by the
Governor. The commission shall establish the annual salary and the
medical, dental, insurance, and other similar benefits of state
officers.
(b) The commission shall consist of the following persons:
(1) Three public members, one of whom has expertise in the area of
compensation, such as an economist, market researcher, or personnel
manager; one of whom is a member of a nonprofit public interest
organization; and one of whom is representative of the general
population and may include, among others, a retiree, homemaker, or
person of median income. No person appointed pursuant to this
paragraph may, during the 12 months prior to his or her appointment,
have held public office, either elective or appointive, have been a
candidate for elective public office, or have been a lobbyist, as
defined by the Political Reform Act of 1974.
(2) Two members who have experience in the business community, one
of whom is an executive of a corporation incorporated in this State
which ranks among the largest private sector employers in the State
based on the number of employees employed by the corporation in this
State and one of whom is an owner of a small business in this State.
(3) Two members, each of whom is an officer or member of a labor
organization.
(c) The Governor shall strive insofar as practicable to provide a
balanced representation of the geographic, gender, racial, and ethnic
diversity of the State in appointing commission members.
(d) The Governor shall appoint commission members and designate a
chairperson for the commission not later than 30 days after the
effective date of this section. The terms of two of the initial
appointees shall expire on December 31, 1992, two on December 31,
1994, and three on December 31, 1996, as determined by the Governor.
Thereafter, the term of each member shall be six years. Within 15
days of any vacancy, the Governor shall appoint a person to serve the
unexpired portion of the term.
(e) No current or former officer or employee of this State is
eligible for appointment to the commission.
(f) Public notice shall be given of all meetings of the
commission, and the meetings shall be open to the public.
(g) On or before December 3, 1990, the commission shall, by a
single resolution adopted by a majority of the membership of the
commission, establish the annual salary and the medical, dental,
insurance, and other similar benefits of state officers. The annual
salary and benefits specified in that resolution shall be effective
on and after December 3, 1990.
Thereafter, at or before the end of each fiscal year, the
commission shall, by a single resolution adopted
by a majority of the membership of the commission, adjust
the annual salary and the medical, dental, insurance, and
other similar benefits of state officers. The annual salary
and benefits specified in the resolution shall be effective
on and after the first Monday of the next December.
The commission shall adjust the annual salary of state officers by
a resolution adopted by a majority of the membership of the
commission, not earlier than November 15, to take effect on the first
Monday of the next December, except that a resolution shall not be
adopted or take effect in any year that increases the annual salary
of any state officer if, on or before the immediately preceding
November 1, the Legislative Analyst determines that, for the current
fiscal year, General Fund revenues have declined substantially below
the estimate of General Fund revenues upon which the budget bill
enacted for that fiscal year was based, or General Fund expenditures
have increased substantially above that estimate of General Fund
revenues; in either event an operating deficit shall thereby be
deemed to exist for that fiscal year. If, during that fiscal year,
the Legislative Analyst subsequently determines that the operating
deficit for that fiscal year no longer exists, the commission may
thereupon adopt, during that same fiscal year, a resolution that
increases the annual salary of state officers. The Legislative
Analyst shall provide to the Governor and both houses of the
Legislature a written notice of any determination that an operating
deficit exists, and of any subsequent determination that the
operating deficit has been eliminated.
(h) In establishing or adjusting the annual salary and the
medical, dental, insurance, and other similar benefits, the
commission shall consider all of the following:
(1) The amount of time directly or indirectly related to the
performance of the duties, functions, and services of a state
officer.
(2) The amount of the annual salary and the medical, dental,
insurance, and other similar benefits for other elected and appointed
officers and officials in this State with comparable
responsibilities, the judiciary, and, to the extent practicable, the
private sector, recognizing, however, that state officers do not
receive, and do not expect to receive, compensation at the same
levels as individuals in the private sector with comparable
experience and responsibilities.
(3) The responsibility and scope of authority of the entity in
which the state officer serves.
(4) Whether the Legislative Analyst has determined that an
operating deficit exists in the current fiscal year.
(i) Until a resolution establishing or adjusting the annual salary
and the medical, dental, insurance, and other similar benefits for
state officers takes effect, each state officer shall continue to
receive the same annual salary and the medical, dental, insurance,
and other similar benefits received previously.
(j) All commission members shall receive their actual and
necessary expenses, including travel expenses, incurred in the
performance of their duties. Each member shall be compensated at the
same rate as members, other than the chairperson, of the Fair
Political Practices Commission, or its successor, for each day
engaged in official duties, not to exceed 45 days per year.
(k) It is the intent of the Legislature that the creation of the
commission should not generate new state costs for staff and
services. The Department of Personnel Administration, the Board of
Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System, or other
appropriate agencies, or their successors, shall furnish, from
existing resources, staff and services to the commission as needed
for the performance of its duties.
() "State officer," as used in this section, means the Governor,
Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Controller, Insurance
Commissioner, Secretary of State, Superintendent of Public
Instruction, Treasurer, member of the State Board of Equalization,
and Member of the Legislature.
(m) "Adjust," as used in this section, means the process of
consideration of the appropriate levels of salaries and benefits,
based on the criteria set forth in subdivision (h), that would result
in a resolution of the commission to increase, decrease, or maintain
without change the levels of salaries or benefits for a particular
fiscal year.