California Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to overhaul the cost of public pensions would face competition from ballot measures proposed by a coalition that says Mr. Brown didn’t go far enough.
The proposals submitted to Attorney General Kamala Harris by the coalition, named California Pension Reform, would push new state and local workers into either a traditional 401(k) plan or a hybrid that combines elements of a 401(k) and traditional defined benefit plan.
The group said it will decide in January which to pursue.
“The governor’s proposal, as is, is not a complete proposal,” said Dan Pellissier, who heads the group and was a deputy cabinet secretary under former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Mr. Schwarzenegger had unsuccessfully pushed for defined contribution plans to replace the states DB plans.
Mr. Brown last month unveiled a 12-point plan that would require public workers to pay more for retirement and assume more risk with pension investments, raise the retirement age to 67 from 55 for most state employees, curb abuses and add two outsiders to the board of the $225.7 billion California Public Employees’ Retirement System, Sacramento.
Mr. Pellissier said that while Mr. Brown’s plan would curb current costs of public-employee pension benefits, it fails to adequately draw down the growing unfunded liability of the retirement plans.
The initiatives must be approved by the attorney general and the secretary of state before the group can begin gathering the estimated 1.3 million signatures it needs to qualify for the November 2012 ballot.
