After laying the groundwork to terminate more than a thousand staff members to help plug a gaping budget hole, the State Board of Equalization has pulled back from the plan because it has found other ways to save the money.
"It appears at this point in time that we've identified enough savings that allow us today to avoid sending out (termination) notices," said board spokeswoman Anita Gore.
The BOE processes state business tax returns and employs about 4,000 workers, but it has defied Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's order to furlough them.
Other officials elected by statewide ballot have done the same, including Attorney General Jerry Brown, Controller John Chiang and Lt. Gov. John Garamendi.
They've argued that their constitutional independence extends to staffing matters.
The dispute has landed in the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento.
Schwarzenegger has cut the constitutional officers' budgets by amounts equal to the furlough savings $40 million in BOE's case.
To read the complete article, visit www.sacbee.com.
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