The California Constitution grants the California Citizens Compensation Commission the authority to adjust annually the salaries of various public officials including the Governor. The California Constitution permits a city or county to adopt a charter for purposes of its governance that supersedes general laws of the state in regard to specified subjects, including compensation of city or county employees. The California Constitution establishes the University of California as a public trust with full powers of organization and government, subject only to specified limitations.
This measure would propose to enact the Public Executive Pay Reform Act of 2018. The measure would prohibit an employee of a public employer from receiving an annual base salary or payrate that exceeds the salary of the Governor established by the California Citizens
Compensation Commission that is effective at the time the employment contract is entered. The measure would exempt from this prohibition an employment contract in effect on the date the measure becomes effective, but would apply the prohibition to a contract entered into, renewed, extended, or revised on or after that date. If a reduction in the Governor’s salary causes a valid employment contract to violate the prohibition on the date the reduction takes effect, the measure would exempt a contract from the prohibition, as specified. The measure would define a “public employer” as the state, or a political subdivision of the state, including, but not limited to, counties, cities, charter counties, charter cities, a charter city and county, school districts, special districts, boards, commissions, the Regents of the University of California, the Trustees of the California State University, and the Legislature.