From The Sacramento Bee:

The Legislature’s top administrators have asked Attorney General Jerry Brown to decide whether pending 18 percent cuts to lawmakers’ pay and benefits were legally approved by the California Citizens Compensation Commission.

Jon Waldie, chief administrative officer of the Assembly, and Greg Schmidt, chief executive officer of the Senate, suggest that the reductions were beyond the jurisdiction of the seven-member commission, which is appointed by the governor.

Citing the state’s dire fiscal condition, the panel in May cut the pay for state officials by 18 percent beginning in December 2010 – after the next round of legislative elections. The cut will reduce the annual pay of a legislator from $116,208 to $95,291. Meanwhile, annual pay for legislative leaders will drop from $133,639 to $109,584.

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