Chuck Reed and Carl DeMaio are back and are dishing out another attack on pensions. Their newest measure, released June 4, 2015, is called “The Voter Empowerment Act of 2016” and it would allow for voters to make adjustments to future pension plans without political interference. Essentially, it would shift all new public employees from the various defined-benefit plans currently in place to 401(k) plans and lock them in place beginning 2019. Voters would then be able to vote on pension enhancements and whether to continue offering traditional pensions after 2019.
Dave Low, chairman of Californians for Retirement Security, swiftly reacted by calling the measure as “yet another destined-to-fail attempt to eliminate the retirement security of public employees”. Labor leaders contest that this measure will be tied up in the courts for years and cost Reed and DeMaio an estimated $30 million to mount a credible campaign against an opposition that has vowed to spend twice that to defeat it.
As always, ACSS intends to stand up for the rights of state excluded employees and oppose pension reform. Your pension is your rightfully defined benefit that should not be diminished or modified. We will continue to monitor this issue and provide updates as they occur.
Click here to read more about this proposed measure in an article from the San Diego Free Press.