Associated Press, March 1, 1990
AUGUSTA, Maine - Gov. John R. McKernan, saying he plans to "work some days without pay," is urging state employees to give "serious consideration" to a set of voluntary work force reduction programs aimed at saving $15 million.
[Willis Lyford] said McKernan planned to return to the General Fund one week's worth of his $70,000 annual salary -- $1,346 -- sometime after the beginning of the new fiscal year, which starts July 1.
"Personally, I plan to work some days without pay and hope that you will give serious consideration to participating in one of the voluntary programs," McKernan wrote.
If you have a library card, you can check the source for yourself.
As for Article V, none of the attorneys I spoke with were willing to say definitively that it would prevent the governor from voluntarily increasing his pension contribution. However, Marshall Tinkle, a Portland attorney that is publishing a book on the Maine Constitution, today told Political Correction the following:
"Noting that the relevant section of the Constitution "has never been construed by the court," Tinkle nonetheless said that since "all Section 6 says is [the governor's] compensation 'shall not be increased or diminished'" during the governor's term, a change to LePage's pension payments that doesn't modify the overall size of his compensation package "might not run afoul of the Constitution." Tinkle added that "you could argue that the governor could waive that protection if he wants to and nobody'd be harmed by that."
Political Correction, it should be noted, is run by the progressive group Media Matters.
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McKernan
Associated Press, March 1, 1990
AUGUSTA, Maine - Gov. John R. McKernan, saying he plans to "work some days without pay," is urging state employees to give "serious consideration" to a set of voluntary work force reduction programs aimed at saving $15 million.
[Willis Lyford] said McKernan planned to return to the General Fund one week's worth of his $70,000 annual salary -- $1,346 -- sometime after the beginning of the new fiscal year, which starts July 1.
"Personally, I plan to work some days without pay and hope that you will give serious consideration to participating in one of the voluntary programs," McKernan wrote.
If you have a library card, you can check the source for yourself.
As for Article V, none of the attorneys I spoke with were willing to say definitively that it would prevent the governor from voluntarily increasing his pension contribution. However, Marshall Tinkle, a Portland attorney that is publishing a book on the Maine Constitution, today told Political Correction the following:
"Noting that the relevant section of the Constitution "has never been construed by the court," Tinkle nonetheless said that since "all Section 6 says is [the governor's] compensation 'shall not be increased or diminished'" during the governor's term, a change to LePage's pension payments that doesn't modify the overall size of his compensation package "might not run afoul of the Constitution." Tinkle added that "you could argue that the governor could waive that protection if he wants to and nobody'd be harmed by that."
Political Correction, it should be noted, is run by the progressive group Media Matters.