The members of the California legislature pull down a full-time salary, though many months of the 
year are spent in district "work periods" far from the State Capitol. But you really have to wonder in the absence of a state budget, now well past the Constitution deadline, why all our legislators are not in Sacramento working hard at finding a solution to the budget impasse?
Perhaps no member of the State Legislature has demonstrated the arrogance of Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. While Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines stands by attentively in Fresno to return to Sacramento (on his favorite three hour drive), the Speaker of the California Assembly is off vacationing in Europe…
What? You didn’t know that? Yeah, not much has been written about it all of the newspaper stories covering the budget impasse. Trying to figure out where Nunez is vacationing on the other side of the pond is a bit like trying to play Where’s Waldo.
Of course, the members of the California State Senate are all in Sacramento or nearby subject to a call into session.
In a release issued by the California Term Limits Defense fund, Kevin Spillane says:
Previously, in a dramatic act of hypocritical hyperbole, Nunez had publicly announced that legislators should cancel their vacation plans and stay within an hour’s travel time to Sacramento until a state budget had been approved. Last time we checked, it took a little bit longer than an hour to make it from Paris to Sacramento.
This is the same Fabian Nunez who during last year’s budget stalemate openly discussed his personal need to have the budget adopted in time to use his tickets to the World Cup in Germany. It’s clear what Nunez’s priorities are – perks and play over performance.
Now we know why Nunez so abruptly and mysteriously adjourned the Assembly for a month without consulting with the Senate and before a final budget had been approved – the Speaker wanted to get on with his vacation.
The Term Limits advocates have dubbed Nunez as being "AAWOL" – Arrogantly Absent Without Leave. Spillane goes on to conclude:
Fabian Nunez is abdicating on the most basic responsibility of the Legislature – approving a state budget – so that he can vacation in Europe. It’s time for Fabian to cut short his vacation and do his job as one of the two highest paid state legislators in the country.
We wholeheartedly agree. Some sort of budget deal that involves dragging 15 Republicans to support the Assembly Budget while the Governor not-so-quietly agrees to use his line-item veto to knock out a list of spending items is not ideal way to negotiate a budget. (Though please note, in contrast to Nunez, at least the Governor is at the Capitol, sleeves rolled up, trying to resolve this.) Democrats should acknowledge that they must reign in state spending to get a budget passed, and should be thankful that the ‘line in the sand’ from Senate Republicans is, frankly, very modest. They could be demanding much more.
Of course, Fabian Nunez and his family are undoubtedly enjoying some croissants and jam at some 500 year old cafe far away from the fiscal challenges facing the future of California. Pure arrogance. And this guy wants the voters to lengthen his stay in the legislature from six years to twelve? Seems like he already has been there too long.
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