Latest news with #stateworkers
CBS News
2 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
California state workers push back against July 1 return to office, budget cuts
SACRAMENTO — Hundreds of state workers showed up to protest at the California State Capitol on Thursday, fighting to continue working from home and for their paychecks. Governor Gavin Newsom is mandating that state workers return to in-person work at least four days a week starting on July 1. Many state workers are concerned about how expensive it will be for them to return to in-person work, and now those costs may only be harder to deal with. "It really feels like state workers are being punished," said Haley Leguizamo, who works for the California Department of Education. The governor is proposing to cut nearly $767 million in state worker salaries to address the $12 billion state budget deficit. State workers said that means they will not be getting their 3% raises that were negotiated for the next two fiscal years. Assemblymember Josh Hoover called for an audit of what the return-to-office mandate for state workers will cost. "Why should Californians who have returned to office in their respective fields care about this? How is state workers returning to the office impacting them?" I asked. "People working in the office already will very much notice a difference on their highways when it comes to traffic congestion," Hoover responded. Hoover said it is also impacting taxpayer dollars, claiming it costs around $600 million per year to pay and maintain state office buildings that he thinks could be sold and turned into housing. "It's going to be crazy again," said Andrew Douglas, who works at La Bou. Downtown businesses like La Bou are hopeful that state workers will bring a boom, but instead, it may be a bust. "People aren't going to go and patronize those businesses because they just can't afford to," said Vincent Green, an information technology specialist for the state. State workers may also be paying more for parking, up to $200 a month in some garages. The city plans to increase its prices on some of the cheaper garages on July 1, the same day the new return-to-office mandate for state workers begins. The state's finance department gave CBS13 this statement about the budget cuts: "Closing a $12 billion shortfall requires spending restraint across state government. The budget doesn't propose any furloughs, salary cuts, or health care reductions for state workers - but it does ask them to forego a three-percent salary increase." CBS13 also reached out to the governor's office but did not hear back. In the past, Newsom has been standing firm behind his return-to-office mandate, saying that it is good for people to collaborate in person. Some state workers told CBS13 that this is all a political move. "We have proven that we can still do our jobs even though we are at home," Green said.
CBS News
3 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Saturday special session? Leaders in Minnesota Legislature hope to avoid layoff notices to thousands of state workers
Minnesota legislative leaders and Gov. Tim Walz hope there will be a special session of the Legislature this weekend before layoff notices will be sent to nearly 30,000 state workers on Monday. They had pushed for mid-week, but by Wednesday they said negotiators still hadn't buttoned up outstanding issues, causing further delays. Walz will call a special session when the bills are complete, drafted and ready for passage. Leaders and key lawmakers have been working on the remaining parts of the budget for weeks, largely out of public view. DFL Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman said Wednesday they are "urgently" trying to finish by the weekend to avoid sending state employees that dreaded message. But other self-imposed deadlines have come and gone since the regular session ended May 19 and lawmakers began their behind-the-scenes work to finish everything up. "We are making progress. It is as slow as molasses, but molasses is good, and we are going to get done. I cross my fingers," said Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-Saint Paul. This is the most closely divided Legislature in Minnesota history, which makes the process uniquely delicate and difficult to get everything done. It's unclearif there are even the votes to pass some parts of the carefully crafted agreement they made in late May. "We're at a point right now where, quite candidly, and the legislators know this—I'm not even saying as a pejorative—every single legislator is potentially a veto over the whole deal to get some of this done," Walz said. Among the sticking points are how they will pass a rollback of state health coverage for undocumented immigrants—a compromise reached by GOP and DFL leaders. There is also some contention with a transportation funding package and provisions in a tax bill. Many DFL lawmakers deeply oppose the cuts to MinnesotaCare for adults who are living in the country illegally. Murphy has said it needs to be a stand-alone bill to ensure passage, an acknowledgment of the many likely defectors she will have in her caucus, which only has a one-seat majority in the chamber. Republicans will need to support it. House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said for a stand-alone bill to happen, her caucus needs language in the legislation to ensure it won't be vetoed. Republicans, she said, want that assurance, even though Walz signed the agreement with leaders that included the change. "Some of the things that we're looking at is if that would be broken out into a separate bill, there would have to be a guaranteed contingency—say, funding for MDH, or whatever that might look like—that would be a guarantee that that bill would both be passed and enacted," she said. If lawmakers do not finish by the weekend, the layoff notices will be sent Monday morning, Walz said. Failure to pass the rest of the budget by June 30 will trigger a partial government shutdown on July 1, the start of the next fiscal year. The governor told reporters he doesn't think that will happen, but nevertheless Minnesota Management and Budget—which oversees the state's finances and payroll and HR operations for state workers—is following protocols to prepare for that possibility. Some state services, agencies and programs would remain operational in that scenario because the Legislature did approve some budget bills before session ended last month, like spending plans for the judiciary and state government offices like the secretary of state and attorney general.
CBS News
7 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
State leaders hopeful for Minnesota budget deal ahead of special session
Thousands of Minnesota state workers will be getting layoff notices in the next few days because the Legislature has failed to come to a budget agreement. If the budget standoff continues through the end of this month at the Minnesota Capitol, there will be a state government shutdown on July 1 — the first time that's happened since 2011. For weeks, legislative leaders insisted they would have a balanced budget by the end of the session on May 19. That obviously didn't happen. The state is required to adopt a balanced budget every two years, and this is one of those years. And right now, the Legislature has a lot left to do. Among the bills not passed is the E-12 Education budget, representing about 30% of the total state budget, and the State Health and Human Services budget, which accounts for about 28%. Despite half the budget unfinished, leaders continue to be optimistic. DFL Majority Leader Erin Murphy, who was a guest on WCCO Sunday Morning at 10:30 a.m., says she's hopeful a budget will be ready so Gov. Tim Walz can call a special session for the Legislature to vote on it. "Gosh, even this week, we're hoping that it can be this week. I know everybody needs to give the revisors the time to draft the legislation," Sen. Murphy said. While the Minnesota House is tied at 67 Republicans and 67 Democrats, the Senate has a one-vote DFL Majority at 34 to 33. That slenderest of margins is one reason that reaching an agreement has proved so difficult. Another hold up has been the issue of free health insurance for undocumented immigrants. Legislative leaders — including GOP Speaker Lisa Demuth, DFL Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, Sen. Murphy and Walz — agreed to roll back the benefit for undocumented adults and leave it in place for children. But the pushback has been swift and strong. DFL legislators immediately protested the rollback agreement, even demonstrating at the governor's offices. Sen. Murphy says with the slim majorities, a compromise had to happen. "It is a very, very difficult vote for me and it is a very contentious issue for my colleagues, and rightfully so," she said. "But it was a chief priority for the Republicans." With DFL legislators deeply fractured, it's unclear how and when a new budget deal will be finalized. Walz says only when the deal is completely set will he call a one-day special session so the legislature can vote on the budget and he can sign it.
