Darrell Steinberg, in his capacity as President Pro Tempore of the California Senate; John A. Perez, in his capacity as Speaker of the California Assembly v. John Chiang, in his capacity as California State Controller, and Does 1 through 10
Published: Jun. 2, 2012 | Result Date: Jan. 24, 2012 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: 34-2012-00117584 Bench Decision – Equitable Relief
Court
Sacramento Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Fredric D. Woocher
(Strumwasser & Woocher LLP)
Defendant
Facts
On June 15, 2011, the Legislature timely enacted and sent to the Governor the proposed budget for the 2011-12 fiscal year. State Controller John Chiang announced that he conducted his own review and concluded that the budget was incomplete and deemed that the Members of the Legislature had forfeited their pay under the "On-Time Budget Act of 2010" which he claimed gave him the power to take action if the Legislatures failed to pass a balance budget by the June 15 deadline. He blocked the members' pay for 12 days.
Legislative leaders sued Chiang for violating the separation of powers doctrine.
Result
Judge David Brown ruled that State Controller Chiang did not have the authority to block lawmakers' pay or decide whether the state budget was balanced.
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