California Has Nation's Highest-Paid Prison Guards, Study Finds. The maximum pay of California's prison guards is nearly 40 percent higher than that of the highest-paid guards in 10 other states and the federal government, according to a study by the California Department of Personnel Administration. The department's survey showed that when total compensation is considered (including medical insurance, retirement benefits and other fringe benefits), California's prison guards beat the median top pay of the out-of-state guards by nearly 29 percent. The union, which recently mounted an effort to recall Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger due in part to the governor's failure to support a contract favored by guards, said the study is flawed because it doesn't take into account California's higher cost of living. A union spokeswoman also complained that prison guards don't make as much as California Highway Patrol officers. A California prison guard's maximum base salary is $73,728. (Cal-Tax: During this year's budget negotiations, some parties proposed releasing prisoners in order to reduce prison spending. This study suggests that other states are controlling spending without resorting to such drastic measures.) (Source: The Sacramento Bee, October 10.)
Cal-Taxletter October 17, 2008
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