Reform package would change makeup of board

by Brian Leubitz

Pension reform is always a thorny issue, and when you just defeated the Assemblyman who was supposed to be the chair of the public employees retirement committee, the issue might become a little more salient. And so, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that Asm. Marc Levine (D-San Rafael) is spending some of his time on the issue. In this case, he is putting forward a bill on the makeup of the CalPERS board, primarily drawn from Gov. Brown’s 14 point plan he released back in 2011:

Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-San Rafael, an upset victor last fall in a new election process, has introduced a bill containing Gov. Brown’s stalled proposal to restructure the CalPERS board, adding financial expertise and loosening labor control.

The proposal to change the board, which needs voter approval because of a labor-backed initiative in 1992, would double the number of gubernatorial appointees to six, matching the number of labor representatives. (CalPensions)

The bill, as currently proposed, seems unlikely to pass without some discussions with stakeholders, particularly labor. For his part, Gov. Brown has been forced to put aside the pension issue as he has been fighting for Prop 30 and other budget priorities. However, even with its doubtful future status, whether Levine’s bill is a prompt for additional conversation on the issue is an open question.