Tag "Pension Reform"

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Court ruling opens avenue for pension reform

SACRAMENTO – An Aug. 17 California appeals court ruling rejected a public employee union’s claim that its members had a right to “pension spiking,” which the court described as “various stratagems and ploys to inflate their income and retirement benefits.”

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LAO raises doubts about teachers’ pension bailout

A new report from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office is raising questions about the long-term effectiveness of the Legislature’s 2014 bailout of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, which will nearly double annual funding to cover CalSTRS’ obligations when it

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Chuck Reed: Reform measure will bite pension liability ‘elephant’

Former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed acknowledged at a recent taxpayer forum that his latest proposed pension reform initiatives won’t solve California’s $350 billion unfunded retirement benefit liability problem. But he thinks they’ll help. “Sometimes you have to eat the

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DeMaio/Reed pension reform initiative may be pushed back to 2018 ballot

Over the weekend, two sources indicated to me that the Chuck Reed/Carl DeMaio pension reform initiative would be pulled, re-written, and re-submitted to the attorney general for a new title and summary. If it is to be re-filed, it is

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’13th checks’ scrapped in San Jose pension deal

In June 2012, San Jose voters by a more than 2-to-1 margin approved an ambitious pension reform measure meant to bring down long-term costs of retirement benefits for city employees. The night of the election, the San Jose police union

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Campaign 2016: Bipartisan group files pension reform initiative

The battle over California’s out-of-control public employee pensions could soon move from the courtroom to the ballot box. A bipartisan group of pension reform advocates, led by former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and former San Diego Councilman Carl DeMaio, recently filed a

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Ruling on pension bonuses shows obstacles to CA reform

Providing bonus checks to government retirees when pension funds have good years has long been common and controversial around California. Now an appellate court has ruled this policy is a vested benefit that can’t be ended by formal action of

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California’s Beltway delegation double-dips on pensions

They’re called double-dippers: those who take a pension payout from one government job while earning a salary doing another. Last year 19 of California’s 55 members of the U.S. Congress drew pensions from a state-backed public retirement plan, according to a CalWatchdog.com

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DeMaio, Reed team up for 2016 pension fight

The dynamic duo of California pension reform are teaming up in 2016. Former San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio and former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, both of whom successfully passed pension reform in their respective cities during their time

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New category of CA employees tries to sandbag pension fixes

When elected officials participate even very indirectly in a process that improves their compensation, the public goes wild. It’s powerful attack-ad fodder for candidates seeking to unseat such politicians. But when powerful bureaucrats engage in such in a maneuver —

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