Huber says state board salaries still need scrutiny

Salaries for a never-audited body of state boards and commissions are still a target for Assemblywoman Alyson Huber despite a Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger veto of her bill to force an ongoing series of audits.



Assembly Bill 579 was vetoed Oct. 11. Huber (D-El Dorado Hills) got backing of both houses of the State Legislature for her proposed audit of "the bloated salaries of ex-legislators and the politically connected who are appointed to state boards and commissions." She noted Schwarzenegger is on public record himself as pointing public scrutiny toward some board salaries.





"It is unfortunate that despite the governor's own call for reform of state boards and commissions, he chose to veto AB 579," Huber said.





The bill passed out of both houses of the State Legislature with "overwhelming" bipartisan support, said Jennifer Wonnacott, spokeswoman for Huber.





Schwarzenegger in a veto message to legislators said, "I am supportive of the intent of this bill to audit the workload of salaried board members or commissioners, beginning with the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. However, the legislature already has a process in place through its Joint Legislative Audit Committee, to request audits conducted by the California State Auditor on virtually any state operation. Therefore, the statutory authorization to do so in this bill is unnecessary."



"I disagree with the governor that we should simply take a one-time approach to examining our state boards and commissions," Huber said. "I believe we need systematic reform that forces the state to reevaluate the way it does business year after year. Routine, scheduled audits would work better to weed out waste. My constituents demand reform of the way the state does business and I will keep fighting for that reform, whether the Governor agrees with me or not.



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Nevertheless, Huber, who chairs the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, is considering a request for an audit through that committee, Wonnacott said.



According to the California Performance Review Report, salaries for the 17 highest-paid boards and commissions in California cost the state more than $9 million per year.





Among the state boards and commissions that would have been affected by AB 579 are the Air Resources Board, the Fair Political Practices Commission, the Public Utilities Commission and several appeals boards.

Excerpted from www.ledger-dispatch.com