Governor to disconnect 48,000 cellphones in hands of state workers

[Updated]
January 11, 2011 | 11:09 am

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.

[b]“It is difficult for me to believe that 40% of all state employees must be equipped with taxpayer-funded cellphones,â€