State Government
The Governor wants to "blow up the box" of state government, turning over many of the state's responsibilities to private contractors without any proof that the switch will result in lower costs or better service. His outsourcing proposals would replace the professionals who work with developmentally disabled adults, the mentally ill, and prisoners with private contractors not accountable to taxpayers. In some cases, the contract employees earn more than the state employees they replace.
State Government and the May Revision:
The Governor maintains the same employee compensation proposal from January—reducing state employee salaries by 5 percent, increasing state employee pension contributions by 5 percent, and increasing departmental “salary savings” by 5 percent to reduce state payrolls.
In addition to this, the Governor proposes a “mandatory personal leave program” (PLP), which requires that all state employees have one unpaid floating day per month, estimated to save about $795 million of state savings. According to an analysis by the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, employees’ salaries would be reduced by 4.62 percent each month. Furthermore, furlough Fridays would end in June 2010