California pension reform proposals shunted off

SFGate: Capitol Notebook ^ | 4/28/12 | Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau

[SmithL]

One of the biggest mysteries at the Capitol these days is whether lawmakers are really going to make any substantive changes in the pension system for public employees.

This week didn't do much to answer that, even though there were hearings on bills that were taken word-for-word from proposals Gov. Jerry Brown had sent to the Legislature. The apparent problem? Republicans introduced the bills.

They deal with a host of issues, but the two most contentious are increasing the retirement age and creating some kind of hybrid system that includes a traditional pension plus a 401(k)-style plan.

Republicans were ready to make a big push for the plan, until the Assembly Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security Committee Chairman Warren Furutani, D-Gardena (Los Angeles County) sent a letter to Republicans the day before the hearing saying the measures would not be voted on.

Instead, Democrats on the committee made a procedural move to send the bills to an existing conference committee that is discussing pensions. What's not clear is whether the proposals will ever face a vote, or if they have been disappeared.

Assemblyman Cameron Smyth, R-Santa Clarita (Los Angeles County), who introduced three of the bills, told the committee he had some hope, though, that they would be part of any final solution.

"I think it's all kind of in the eye of the beholder whether this is going to be seen as moving these bills to legislative purgatory never to be seen again or will they be part of the discussion in front of the conference committee," he said.

We should have an answer to that in the next few months.

[blueunicorn6]

Problems with public employee pensions in California? Here’s how the Democrats will deal with this....

“ICAN’THEARYOUICAN’THEARYOUICAN’THEARYOUNANANANANA.”

[King Moonracer]

Its a race, to see who’ll go under first and be bailed out, CA or IL. After that, no more bailouts except for black dominated urban centers.

[hoosierham]

It would serve the greedy public union members right if the states declared bankruptcy and those pensions were terminated;I have NO sympathy for people who were paid inflated salaries and given pensions the average private sector worker can only dream of.

ENtitlement programs will be the death of this nation,if not completely revamped. I was going to say the death of the Republic,but sadly, the Republic passed away quite some time ago,and was quietly replaced with a democracy lead by vain men.

[RedMDer]

Click the link. The Republic you save may be your own.

[doug from upland]

California needs to declare bankruptcy and re-adjust all of the pensions in court.

[4Liberty]

This is another reason Obama should NOT be re-elected. He will gut the federal budget bailing out his state labor union pals. It is not a bad policy move for Rats, they get some of all this unaffordable bail out money flowing back... as campaign contributions. Fiscal irresponsibility will continue unabated until the financed collapse if we don't remove all of these Rats.