Governor Moonbeam: Change You Can Believe In

Governor Jerry Brown is wasting no time in his efforts to get California's finances under control...

Alarmed at discovering that the state pays for 96,000 cellphones, Gov. Jerry Brown issued an executive order Tuesday seeking to cut in half the number of devices being billed to taxpayers.

Requiring 48,000 cellphones to be turned in by June 1 will save the state about $20 million a year.

“It is difficult for me to believe that 40% of all state employees must be equipped with taxpayer-funded cellphones,” Brown said. “Some state employees, including department and agency executives who are required to be in touch 24 hours a day and seven days a week, may need cellphones, but the current number of phones out there is astounding.”