New Legal Action Possible Over Minimum Wage Dispute
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association is considering jumping into the legal fray over the question of whether Controller John Chiang can resist Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed order to pay public employees the minimum wage if no budget is in place.
Lawyers at the Jarvis Association feel the group has a good understanding of what can and cannot be paid under state law. The law was interpreted in a case handled by Jarvis attorneys, White v. Davis, which took five years to run through the courts with a final decision by the California Supreme Court in 2003.
Controller Chiang said his constitutional powers allow him to ignore the order from the governor. Schwarzenegger has yet to sign the order, but his office said he plans to do so on Thursday if no budget agreement is reached, meaning there is no legal basis for making appropriations. The governor is trying to force the legislature to make a budget deal.
The legislature’s legal counsel, Diane Boyer-Vine, backed Chiang with an opinion that argued court decisions indicate the controller can wield power independent of the governor.
NewsFlash: The Market Works
Spread the news, especially to the Air Resources Board. California drivers respond to price signals. Judging from its skepticism of market solutions – embodied by the draft blueprint for greenhouse gas controls, which minimized the role of markets in achieving emission reductions – the Board doesn’t buy this. But recently-released gasoline sales data for California demonstrate that drivers do respond to higher gasoline prices.
The State Board of Equalization recently released its March, 2008, gasoline consumption report, which shows taxable gasoline sales falling by more than three percent from a year ago, and by 5.5% per capita from two years ago.