Governor signs changed wage law  The Associated Press    Police,
firemen and corrections officers will be able to work flexible
shifts without incurring overtime. Local and state governments
also can offer compensatory time rather than cash to employees
for working overtime.  The overtime exceptions for governments
were inadvertently dropped last year when lawmakers approved an
increase in the state’s minimum wage.  This week, the
Legislature approved a bill to restore the exceptions but still
require governments to comply with the state’s higher minimum
wage. At the start of the year, the minimum wage increased to
$6.50 an hour from $5.15 an hour.  “This change to our minimum
wage law will allow local, county and state government to still
provide a better wage, offer comp time for extra hours, and
balance their books,” Richardson said.  Without the legislation,
about $2 million would have been needed for overtime for state
police officers and $2 million for state prison correctional
officers, who work 12-hou