Wilson Vetoes Rival Bill to Expand Work Furloughs

Gov. Pete Wilson on Friday vetoed legislation that would have expanded the use of voluntary work furloughs to help cut state costs, saying the bill could actually have worsened the state’s financial condition.

The Democratic-controlled Legislature sent the bill to the Republican governor as a substitute for Wilson’s proposal to cut state employees’ pay by 5% and to require furloughs at the discretion of department supervisors.

But Wilson said the measure “fails miserably” to cut costs because it would have allowed employees to take time off whenever they wanted as long as the public health and safety were not jeopardized.

Wilson said this provision could have forced the state to pay overtime to cover the shifts of workers who took time off. He also said the measure would have required the state to pay full benefits even to employees working less than half-time.

The governor instead issued an executive order telling his Administration to offer voluntary furloughs whenever it could be done without increasing costs or jeopardizing health, safety or the ability of state agencies to do their jobs.

Wilson also took the occasion to lambaste the Legislature’s Democratic leadership for not moving quicker to address the state’s budget shortfall. The state expects to end the fiscal year about $3 billion in the red and faces a similar shortfall in the budget for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.