For $200, You, Too, Can File a Pension Initiative!

There are potentially serious threats via the direct democracy process that could override the Regents' December action on the UC pension. But there are also initiatives on pensions (and other public issues) that are filed with no prospect they will go anywhere since the authors don't have the $1-$2 million needed to hire signature-gathering firms.

Here is an excerpt from a recent example that is now pending at the Attorney General:

...The members of the retirement board of a public pension or retirement system shall on and after January 1, 2016, invest and maintain at least 85 percent of the system's assets in California-based businesses and shall diversify the investments of the system so as to minimize the risk of loss and to maximize the rate of return, unless under the circumstances it is clearly not prudent to do so...

From http://ag.ca.gov/cms_attachments/initiatives/pdfs/i951_11-0018_%28investing_public_employees_retirement_in_california_businesses%29.pdf

The author of this particular gem - for his $200 - will get a title and summary from the Attorney General and a budget implication analysis from the Legislative Analyst. Needless to say, the cost of providing this service is well over $200. He has a website entry that says:

What I Want to Do: Change our world with good ideas

http://www.care2.com/c2c/people/profile.html?pid=846884511