As part of their effort to pay for the major transportation overhaul Gov. Jerry Brown has called for without levying new taxes, Assembly Republicans have proposed cutting 3,500 full-time positions from the California Department of Transportation, at a savings to the state of half a billion dollars.
Their proposal is taken from a 2014 Legislative Analyst’s Office report, which says Caltrans has too many engineers who prepare and oversee construction projects. The cut represents about a third of those positions, which the analyst’s report suggested could be eliminated without an effect on transportation work.
“It is not OK to continue having these people sitting idly by while we desperately need that money for transportation projects today,” said Assembly Republican leader Kristin Olsen. “There is absolutely no good policy reason to use taxpayer funds to pay 3,500 people to just be sitting around at a desk.”
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