Governor partially vetos furlough bill to shield managers

Gov. Gregoire today signed into law the awful state employee furlough bill, ESSB 6503, but in doing so she vetoed a part of the bill that would have directed that $10 million of the cuts come from Washington Management Service and other management classes.

"A cut of this size, over such a small base, is too large to be practical," the governor said in her partial-veto message.

She said the $10 million requirement was unfair to management and would harm management recruitment and retention. 

 What this means is a bigger chunk of compensation savings now must come from front-line state workers, increasing the chances that mandatory furloughs may very well occur for the 20 percent of state employees who could be targeted.

A copy of the governor's message on ESSB 6503 is attached.