CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS : Props. 158, 159 Defeated; Layoffs Hit Investigators of Government Waste

SACRAMENTO — The last of the government waste investigators serving with the politically independent state auditor general’s office were handed layoff notices Wednesday after voters rejected Proposition 159.

A few blocks away, the remaining members of another respected nonpartisan watchdog agency, the office of the legislative analyst, braced for similar bad news as managers scrambled to find funds to keep the agency afloat following rejection of a similar ballot measure, Proposition 158.

The two proposals would have given the sister agencies protection from lawmakers looking for places to cut legislative budgets. But both were soundly beaten at the polls on Tuesday, leaving the auditor general’s office with no funds to continue operating and the legislative analyst almost in the same straits.

The agencies have functioned as independent watchdogs for the partisan Legislature and have been credited with saving hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars with their recommendations and investigations.

Before Tuesday’s balloting, both offices already had been dealt payroll cuts of more than 50% as a result of voter approval two years ago of Proposition 140, which ordered hefty budget reductions in the Legislature’s spending on itself.

Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) voiced confidence at a news conference Wednesday that Democratic and Republican leaders could devise a strategy to keep the two agencies operating, but he offered no details.

“We’ve got to figure out some way that they will be allowed to continue to serve their functions,” he said.

Auditor Gen. Kurt R. Sjoberg, who had warned that his office would close if Proposition 159 were rejected, said 30-day termination notices were distributed as his remaining employees reported to work Wednesday.

He said many of the remaining 95 employees--in a work force that once totaled nearly twice that--wept at a staff meeting when one of Sjoberg’s deputies made a farewell speech.

“This is a really tough time to hit the bricks,” said Sjoberg, who also will lose his job. “A lot of people stuck it out and passed up other (employment) opportunities during the past year and a half.”

Under the state budget, continued funding for the auditor general’s office, which says it has saved taxpayers more than $500 million during the past decade by uncovering government waste, was contingent upon passage of Proposition 159.

Meanwhile, Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill insisted that “we are moving forward,” but said that $2 million needed to keep her operation functioning for another eight months may be difficult to obtain from the Legislature.

“There’s a lot of things the legislative leadership is juggling right now and we are part of that juggle,” she said, describing her 44 employees as “pretty somber.”

Regarded as the premier agency of its kind in the nation, the 50-year-old office of the legislative analyst makes millions of dollars worth of cost-saving recommendations each year. Among other things, it critiques the governor’s budget for excessive spending and advises lawmakers on tax and policy issues.

Opponents of Propositions 158 and 159, including former Los Angeles County Supervisor Pete Schabarum, argued that there was room in the Legislature’s budget to finance the two agencies if the lawmakers would rid themselves of perks.