Articles for category General News
Sacramento Bee June 16, 2011
Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed his own party's budget today, less than 24 hours after Democratic lawmakers sent him a majority-vote plan balanced with risky solutions.
The Democratic governor said during his campaign and throughout this year he would not sign a budget filled with "gimmicks," though he suggested earlier this week he had relaxed that stance.
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Republican lawmakers are prepared to let voters decide whether to close California's stubborn budget deficit with higher taxes in exchange for major changes in state spending, public pensions and regulatory policies.
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State revenue has rocketed to a projected $6.6 billion beyond expectations, a windfall that Gov. Jerry Brown wants to use to stabilize education spending and help repair California's battered finances.
In the revised budget plan that Brown released Monday, schools would receive about $3 billion that would otherwise have been deferred, aiding districts' ability to plan the academic year. The proposal also devotes some of the unanticipated money to business tax credits and to delaying a portion of the tax increases the governor had sought earlier this year. [Read More...]
More than a thousand teachers, state workers and others fanned out across the south lawn of the Capitol on Friday to pressure Republican lawmakers to extend expiring taxes to avoid further budget cuts.
The event capped a week of demonstrations by the California Teachers Assn., whose members lobbied lawmakers, staged rallies and, on two occasions, got arrested for refusing to leave the Capitol after the building closed. On Friday, David Sanchez, the union’s president, said that his arrest -– and those of 25 others –- brought attention to the cause of public education.
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With Wisconsin convulsed by unrest over a bill to curb public employee unions, a similar measure is steaming toward passage in Ohio, a bigger labor stronghold with a vital role as a political battleground. [Read More...]
In a victory for all public retirees, the California Supreme Court on April 13 refused to hear the County of Orange’s appeal seeking to reverse retroactive pension increases given to retired Orange County sheriffs’ deputies.
The refusal to hear the case means the decision made earlier this year by the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles stands. That court ruled the 2001 labor agreement retroactively giving Orange County deputies a 3 percent at age 50 formula for retirement is valid and does not violate the provisions of the California Constitution. [Read More...]
Republicans and pension busters have been whacking CalPERS like a pinata for the past year. But here's something they don't like to talk about: CalPERS is a huge job creator in California. And weakening it would be a major drag on the state's economy.
CalPERS has invested more than $17 billion in California-based companies, properties and projects, helping to generate nearly one million jobs throughout the State, the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) Investment Committee was told on Monday.
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Associated Press April 12, 2011
When it comes to shaping the future of Social Security, Sen. Dianne Feinstein says "everything should be on the table," including gradually raising the retirement age.
Sen. Barbara Boxer takes a different view. She is co-sponsoring legislation that would require a two-thirds majority vote before Congress could proceed with any legislation that would reduce benefits, increase the retirement age or transition the program to private accounts.
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Sacramento Bee
Published Friday, Apr. 08, 2011
Executives from the Area 4 Agency on Aging – which funnels more than $6 million in federal grants each year to a host of seniors' nutrition, health and social programs in a seven-county area including Sacramento – warned elder advocates this week to expect significant funding reductions to programs for older adults.
"We're entering the great unknown," said Area 4 Agency on Aging executive director Deanna Lea. "We need a disaster plan, just in case."
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Dear CalPERS Members, Employers and Stakeholders,
CalPERS recently took bold action and made public a report that chronicles in sobering detail the alleged wrongdoings of its former Chief Executive Officer and several former Board Members.
It is not possible to explain or excuse the chronicled actions of these former officials and we will make no attempt to do so. I am truly sorry that our members and the taxpayers who support the incredibly important work of every public servant have been placed in a position where they might question the integrity of this organization.
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