Last week California Senate leader Darrell Steinberg announced that he would voluntarily take a 5 percent pay reduction and asked other senators to do the same. As of this morning, the Controller's Office reports that 17 of the 40 senators have either requested the pay cut to take effect July 1 or had already acted independently to accept less than their full salary.

The three senators who represent portions of Ventura County -- Democrat Fran Pavley and Republicans Tony Strickland and George Runner -- are not among the volunteers.

Since a voter-approved constitutional amendment gives the sole power for setting legislative salaries to an appointed board called the Citizens Compensation Commission, the Legislature cannot force a pay cut on itself (or give itself a pay raise). The commission voted earlier this year to implement a 10 percent cut, but by law that cannot take effect until after members are sworn in following the next election, or in Decemeber 2010.

Although Assembly Speaker Karen Bass has not asked member of the Assembly to voluntarily take a pay cut. 22 members have done so, with reductions ranging from 2.75 percent to 18 percent. Again, there are no members of the Ventura County delegation -- Democrats Julia Brownley and Pedro Nava and Republicans Audra Strickland and Cameron Smyth -- on the list.

Steinberg asked for the reductions in recognition of the fact that state workers are already taking an effective pay cut of nearly 10 percent by virtue of being furloughed two days a month.

Legislative salaries now stand at $116,208 a year.