SACRAMENTO, April 29 (UPI) -- The panel that sets pay for elected state officials in California tried to cut state officials' pay, but was blocked by a procedural snag, officials said.
The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday that the California Citizens Compensation Commission voted 3-1 to slash the salaries of state legislators, the governor and other officials by 10 percent.
But the citizen panel's attorney said such a move would require four votes. There are three vacancies on the board, whose members are appointed by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The newspaper noted that if a fourth vote can be made by June 1, the pay cut would apply to officials elected in 2010. Current officeholders would have their pay frozen through December 2010.
"Given the economy, the budget ... to vote for a decrease across the board is the only way we should go," commission Chairman Charles Murray was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
The governor supports the commission's move, and will fill the three vacancies in time for the June deadline, said Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear.
