Schwarznegger asks California Supreme Court to decide furlough cases

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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has asked the California Supreme Court to wade into the ongoing legal battle over whether he had the right to force unpaid furloughs on more than 200,000 state workers since last February.

The Schwarzenegger administration petitioned the court Tuesday to consolidate seven cases that are on appeal in the state’s court system “in an effort to save money and time [and] to get a final decision on the governor’s furlough authority as quickly as possible,” Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Rachel Arrezola said in a statement.

The state has already spent $590,070 in legal fees fighting the furlough lawsuits, Arrezola said, “with tens of thousands remaining to be billed.” More than two dozen furlough cases are winding their way through California’s courts.

‘We are confident the Supreme Court will uphold the governor’s authority,’ Arrezola said.

-- Shane Goldmacher in Sacramento