Victory for Ventura County Employees – Superior Court Deemed Pension-Cutting Measure Invalid

Saying it would be a "waste of public resources" to put it on the ballot, the Ventura County Superior Court Judge Kent Kellegrew on August 4, 2014 ordered the removal of a ballot measure that would have replaced the County's defined benefits pension plan with a 401(k) and set a cap on retirement benefits.

This is a victory for the Citizens for Retirement Security ("CRS"), a coalition of nine unions within Ventura County that filed suit against the County. CRS argued that the county can't unilaterally repeal its participation in the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937. Only the legislature has the power to authorize a pension phase-out plan.

The measure was also eliminated because it violated the single subject requirement imposed by the California Constitution. The subject initiative sought to 1) eliminate defined benefit retirement programs and 2) impose a five year salary cap. Ventura County employees can take in a sigh of relief knowing that their pensions are still in place, for now.

However, the Judge provided the parties time to appeal prior to the election by staying his decision until August 14th. An appellate ruling would likely issue before the final deadline for printing the November ballots later this month. We will keep you updated as the appellate process unfolds.