Asking for more money is not going to do anything to improve California legislators already dismal public approval ratings but that isn't stopping one state assemblyman from trying.
Assemblyman Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles) filed a claim last week against California saying a recent 18 percent pay and benefits cut for state lawmakers was illegal. The move is already being slammed by newspapers across the country.
If the claim passes, state taxpayers would be on the hook for reimbursing public officials millions of dollars, up to $2.5 million, according to the Los Angeles Times. Not all lawmakers support the idea.
An independent commission decided to cut the salaries last year from $116,208 to $95,291.
Cedillo's claim, which argues the commission did not have the authority to make the cuts it did, could be a first step towards a formal lawsuit challenging the decision or a possible prevention of similar reductions in the future.
