Will the State Budget Deal Cut the Heart Out of UC's Recent Pension Changes? Are We Too Chicken to Make a Case With the Governor?

Perhaps you know of the old radio show in which a chicken heart grew until it took over everything and covered the world.

As previous posts on this blog have noted, although the true deadline for getting the governor's proposed tax extensions on the June ballot is somewhat flexible, we are coming close to the point where it becomes administratively impossible. The governor and the Democrats have evidently concluded that proposed strategies for doing the deal without a 2/3 vote for the ballot measure are impractical. So bargaining is going on with a few Republicans on the price for their votes. Pressure for a deal is growing.

It is becoming evident that an important element of that price is a deal on public pensions. See http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/03/jerry-brown-working-on-pension.html

If some sweeping language is included in a pension deal, the changes in the UC pension made by the Regents last December could be overridden. Otherwise, the pension deal will expand until we are engulfed.

Now is the time for folks at UCOP to communicate with the governor that UC has already made its changes and does not want to be covered some all-encompassing ballot proposition.

Take heart: