Action Needed Before We Get Boxed In on Pensions in 2012

One impact of the recently-enacted state budget is that – because it was done without Republican support – there will be no special election this calendar year and, therefore, no propositions dealing with public pensions. In 2012, however, there could be pension-related items on the ballot. California senate leader Darrell Steinberg had this to say about what the legislative Democrats might put on the ballot:

Steinberg pointed to Gov. Jerry Brown's proposals to eliminate purchase of air time, prohibit so-called pension holidays and retroactive pension increases and ban payment of pension benefits to employees who are convicted of a felony related to their job as "obvious" starting blocks for the package. While Steinberg said he is "open" to discuss how to implement a pension cap or a 401k-style hybrid system for new employees "on a purely voluntary basis," he said he would not support altering future benefits of existing employees. "I think they're vested rights," he said.

Full article at: http://blogs.sacbee.com/the_state_worker/2011/07/darrell-steinberg-california-public-pension-reform.html

Of course, what Steinberg and colleagues might put on the ballot by legislative action does not limit the field. And they would need Republican support. The other route is the initiative process, open to anyone with $1-$2 million for signature-gathering firms. As has been pointed out in (many) prior blog entries, the Regents adopted their own pension modifications for UC last December.

We are not so far from 2012 that UCOP/Regental activity aimed at excluding UC’s solution from being overridden by some statewide proposition can be neglected. There was no sign of such activity when – during the state budget negotiations – a ballot proposition overriding the Regents’ action was potentially imminent. Let’s not have a repeat of such inactivity as we approach 2012.

Remember! Once things get boxed in, they won't be the same: