Assemblymember Anthony Portantino Calls for Salary Freeze for Highest Paid State Workers – Savings Would Purchase Additional Air Resources to Fight Fires in California

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 29, 2009
CONTACT: Michael Tamariz
(916) 319-2044

SACRAMENTO, CA – Assemblymember Anthony Portantino (D – La Cañada Flintridge), reintroduced a bill to implement a salary freeze for the highest paid State employees. The Bill, AB 6X 2 calls for a 24 month moratorium on raises for State Employees who earn over $150,000 per year.

“Freezing the salaries of the highest paid State employees until our economy recovers is a logical place to reduce spending and a way to show the people of California that we understand the difficulties every family is facing. It’s time for the highest paid state employees to share the responsibility of our economic recovery. In addition, AB 6X 2 will direct the savings to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for the sole purpose of purchasing or leasing aircraft capable of depositing at least 5,000 gallons of water, foam, or other fire suppressants in a single load.

“Large fires like the Station Fire, which threatened homes in the 44th Assembly District and grew to over 150,000 acres, are nothing new to California. Although significant air resources were deployed to fight the blaze, we can always do more to improve the equipment available to the firefighters who are risking their lives to protect our communities. In the event our fire season starts earlier than expected or extends beyond our leases on Super Scoopers, I want to make sure that they are always ready and available for a quick response to any fire in California. Dedicating more resources now will certainly provide a public benefit tomorrow. Certainly, we can find cost savings from freezing raises for our highest paid employees to accomplish this goal.”

Assembly Bill 6X 2 was introduced in the 6th Extraordinary Session, allowing it to be heard even after the September 11 deadline for the legislature to approve legislation.