Assemblywoman Suzette Valladares speaks during the Valley Industry Association’s fourth annual State of the State luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Valencia in Valencia on Friday, 062521. Dan Watson/The Signal Assemblywoman Suzette Valladares, R-Santa Clarita, recently announced she will not accept a pay increase awarded to the state’s constitutional officers, including state legislators like herself. Valladares, first elected to office in 2020, informed State Controller Betty Yee of her decision in a June 18 letter. She wrote she heard from thousands of constituents who lost work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those constituents, she said, “have yet to receive the unemployment benefits they need to keep their lights on and put food on their tables.”