SACRAMENTO — State lawmakers have hired retired Sacramento appeals court justice Arthur Scotland to sue Controller John Chiang over his decision to briefly withhold legislators’ pay during a budget dispute last summer.
Assembly Speaker John Perez, D-Los Angeles, and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said they aren’t asking to recover any lost pay, which equates to roughly $4,800 for each rank-and-file legislator. Instead, the Democratic leaders are seeking a court ruling that Chiang overstepped his authority — a potentially powerful declaration for any future budget battles.
