Senate Republicans Send Letters Calling for a Vote on Brown’s Pension Plan
On Tuesday, state Senate Minority Leader Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar) and Sen. Mimi Walters (R-Laguna Niguel) sent letters to Democratic lawmakers and Gov. Jerry Brown (D)Â asking for a committee vote later this week on the governor's pension reform plan, the Sacramento Bee's "The State Worker" reports (Ortiz, "The State Worker," Sacramento Bee, 4/11).
Background
In February, Brown released a 12-point pension reform plan that would end traditional pensions for state and local government workers hired after June 2013. The plan includes statutory language on health benefits available to retired state workers.
The proposal would implement "hybrid" plans that combine typical payouts with a 401(k)-style component for workers hired July 1, 2013, or later.
Democrats have said they are not willing to accept Brown's pension reform plan as it stands. However, Republicans support the plan and in February introduced a series of bills that closely match it.
McLeod said that pension reforms are necessary but that some parts of Brown's plan go too far, such as a proposal to raise the retirement age for most new public workers to 67.
Members of the pensions committee said they are concerned Brown's proposal could expose pension plans to considerable losses if the stock market drops significantly (California Healthline, 4/10).
Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) said that the Legislature will pass a comprehensive pension reform plan this year.
Details of Letters
The first letter was sent to Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Chino) and Assembly member Warren Furutani (D-Gardena), co-chairs of the Conference Committee on Public Employee Pensions, asking for the committee to hold a vote on the pension reform plan on Friday when members meet in Southern California.
The second letter was sent to Brown, asking him to join Huff and Walters in demanding "immediate legislative action" on his pension reform plan, which they "believe represents the first steps that must be enacted to get our runaway pension system under control" ("The State Worker," Sacramento Bee, 4/11).
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