Calif. lawmakers receive pay hike Monday
By Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times
SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers are set to receive a 5.3 percent pay raise Monday, but a dozen say they won’t accept it in the wake of a tax hike approved last November and while many residents are still struggling to recover from the recent recession.
The raises were approved by the citizen panel that determines state officials’ compensation. The base salary for most legislators will go from $90,526 to $95,291 — still below the $116,208 that lawmakers received in 2007, before their pay was cut during California’s budget crises.
Many rank-and-file state workers will receive pay hikes of 4.5 percent phased in through July 2015, but some lawmakers note that many in the private sector are hurting.
Great job California. Detroit, coming to a state near you.
So, if Mr. Wyland is going to turn down the raise, where does that money go to? He should accept the raise, donate to charity, and take the tax deduction. I was in Escondido just last week and it could use all of the financial help possible. Might get some of the hookers off the street.