Public Employee Pensions from All Points of the Compass

The combination of Assemblyman Warren Furutani's Joint Legislative Committee Hearing in late October, the Governor's release of his 12-point Pension Reform Plan on October 27, and the announcement of two more ballot measures targeting public employee pensions kept the so-called pension "reformers", those attacking secure retirements for working families, on the front pages for much of the last month.

All of the debate boils down to proposals from the Governor, legislative measures, ballot measures and, ironically, a litany of newspaper editorials applauding exactly the kind of irresponsible broad-brush, top-down Sacramento meddling that editorial writers usually hate.

Pension Reform Issues in Debate:

Warren Furutani's Joint Legislative Interim Hearing on Pension Reform: 

The California League of Cities representatives got it wrong; statewide mandates controlling local pension negotiations are unnecessary. Representatives of the California State Association of Counties got it right! Many (most) local pension systems are in satisfactory condition, or better. Local control should be maintained.

LA County Firefighter Will Pryor, the LACERA Safety Employee Member representative, provided detailed testimony to the Committee to support responsible reform, but only where it's needed. Pension systems, including LACERA, have recovered and do not present an unsustainable cost to the County as some would claim.

Governor Brown's Twelve Point Pension Reform Plan:

At the very top of the first page, the Governor's proposal states that the provisions apply to "all state, local, school and other public employers, new public employees, and current employees as legally permissible." Exactly what that means is still in debate. More importantly, many of the provisions suggested by the Governor require legislation, ballot measure approval, or both. If adopted, many of the provisions would require costly litigation to determine how and when the provisions would apply. 

The Governor's proposed reforms include forcing employees and employers to equally share pension costs 50/50, imposing a new hybrid pension plan with a reduced defined benefit, and increasing retirement ages.  

In all, the Governor's Reform Plan includes many of the same provisions already discussed in March when CAPE representatives met with the Governor's staff in Sacramento.

Two New Ballot Measures Submitted by Reform Advocates:

The Government Employee Pension Reform Acts of 2012, Version 1 & Version 2, were introduced to the Attorney General's Office for title and summary on November 2nd. According to a Californians for Retirement Security representative, one of the proposed ballot initiatives could potentially end public sector defined benefit plans altogether!

Proponents need roughly a million signatures on the ballot measure petitions before they can secure a place on the November 2012 General Election Ballot. Securing a million signatures requires money or motivated volunteers. At this juncture, all we can do is urge Californians to "just say no" to ballot measure petitions. DON'T SIGN IT!

CAPE on Public Employee Pensions:

CAPE supports efforts to stop pension spiking and put an end to any cases of abuse in public employee pension systems.  However, there is no pension crisis in L.A. County.  L.A. County pension benefits are modest, L.A. County employees already contribute to their pension costs, and our members' pensions are adequately funded and responsibly managed by LACERA. 

L.A. County is already a model for effective pension reform, thanks to decades of employees and employer working cooperatively in collective bargaining.  Local government pension changes SHOULD NEVER be negotiated from Sacramento.

CAPE FAIR PAC:   You can help defend CAPE members' hard-earned retirement security against the ongoing, irresponsible attacks.  JOIN CAPE FAIR PAC TODAY.