Rich Pedroncelli/AP

Controller John Chiang discusses his decision to halt paychecks for all 120 state lawmakers after they failed to come up with a balanced budget by the June 15th deadline, during an interview with the Associated Press in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, June 21, 2011.

State Democratic lawmakers weren’t happy last summer when Controller John Chiang withheld $583,200 of their pay for failing to submit a “balanced” budget on time and now they’re suing him.

Lawmakers maintain that they submitted a proposed budget by the June 15th deadline, but were forced to rework it without pay after Chiang declared it to be unbalanced. Lawmakers say Chiang misused his power, while he maintains he was exercising authority bestowed on him by voters who in 2010 approved Proposition 25, a state constitutional amendment known as the ‘On-Time Budget Act.’ The Democratic lawmakers aren’t seeking reimbursement of the withheld pay, but they do want the Sacramento County Superior Court to clarify the Controller’s authority and block him from withholding pay again, arguing that it shouldn’t be up to the controller to determine whether a budget is balance. Meanwhile, California Republicans seem to be condemning the lawsuit and accusing Democrats of trying to undermine state authority.

WEIGH IN:

How much authority should the state Controller have? What should the consequences be if the legislature fails to submit a balanced budget on time?

Guest:

John Chiang, California State Controller

Erwin Chemerinsky, founding dean, UCI School of Law; former attorney, US Department of Justice