State Sen. Dave Cox regaled Republicans in Martell April 24 with tales of his sit-down with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"I said, 'I could vote for your budget, Governor, but I need 12 things,'" Cox said, drawing chuckles from the audience of around 35 at Republican Central Committee headquarters.

All state employees, Cox said he requested, should take wage cuts.

"Everybody needs to take a haircut - take a 5 percent cut, minimum," Cox said. "I've taken 5 percent."

Cox said he went on to request that Schwarzenegger approve an 18-month benefit freeze for all state employees, a five-year cutoff on enrollment in the CalWorks program and elimination of the state Commission on the Status of Women.

"Women know their status around here - they're the boss," he said.

Cox said he urged repeal of the state law mandating lunch periods and breaks for employees working in California, reminding Schwarzenegger that Teichert Construction Co. recently lost an expensive lawsuit when it was ruled to have illegally denied breaks.

At the end of the request list, Cox said, he learned that Schwarzenegger found the sum total "a bit extreme."

"I said, 'Then I'm not prepared to vote for your budget,'" Cox said.

Early in his remarks, Cox referred to a recent drop statewide in Republican voter registrations.

"Increasing the number of Republicans is of interest," he said. "Facebook is the common piece young people look at. We're going to have to move in that direction. We have to get our act together and move on the Internet."