2016 Pension Initiative
In 2014, Former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed attempted to qualify an initiative for the ballot that would severely impair and damage the traditional pensions of government employees. After having destroyed the City of San Jose, Mayor Reed had hoped to bring the same level of damage to all of California. He partnered with former San Diego politician Carl DeMaio and they eventually sent their initiative to State Attorney General Kamala Harris for a "Title and Summary" (the information normally provided to the voters). Reed and DeMaio did not like the wording of the "Title and Summary" and chose to sue the Attorney General. In court, they argued that the Attorney General's wording was prejudicial because it unfairly stated that the vested pension rights of police officers and firefighters would be impaired. The judge ruled that the Attorney General's "Title and Summary" was accurate and legal. The delay from the court process caused Chuck Reed to pull his initiative and wait until 2016 for another try. Below is a chronological list of important events surrounding this initiative. The most recent information is at the top. Dates in YELLOW highlight major changes in the process. Click here to learn how the initiative process works. |
05/07/16 | Chuck Reed Gearing Up For 2018 Statewide Ballot Initiative | |
01/29/16 | (ADDA Blog) Three Strikes and They're Out | |
01/25/16 | Pension Initiative Refile Many Include Legislation | |
Title and summaries were released on the two Reed/DeMaio pension initiatives. Polling tested both title and summaries and determined their initial support/opposition. The Attorney General did a fair, but good job on both title and summaries. Reed stated in the Sacramento Bee that "it's not the most positive way to describe the initiative, but at least it meets the legal requirement to be accurate". We agree. Based on previous polling we anticipate that neither will test at above 50% support. Reed was also quoted in the Sacramento Bee that they need to start at 60% support to be viable, and need to raise $2-3 million for signature gathering and $25 million for a campaign. If our polling projection is accurate it will add fuel to the argument that anyone funding Reed/DeMaio is wasting their money. | ||
01/18/16 | (LA Times) Backers to Hold Off on Pension Ballot Measure | |
01/18/16 | PENSION INITIATIVE IS PULLED FROM BALLOT BY BACKERS | |
12/10/15 | (Reuters) Pension Reform Measure Can Try for Ballot | |
12/10/15 | (Sacramento Bee) Pension Overhaul Advocates Move Forward | |
12/09/15 | Title and Summary for Initiative 15-0077 (Government Pension Cap Act) | |
12/09/15 | Title and Summary for Initiative 15-0076 (Voter Empowerment Act) | |
11/24/15 | Fiscal Impact of Initiative 15-0077 (Government Pension Cap Act) | |
11/24/15 | Fiscal Impact of Initiative 15-0076 (Voter Empowerment Act) | |
10/07/15 | Pension Reform Initiative Reworked | |
10/07/15 | (OC Register) Pension Reform, Take 3 | |
10/05/15 | New Public Pension Proposals Target Future Employees | |
10/05/15 | New Ballot Measures Unveiled by Reed and DeMaio | |
10/05/15 | Wording of the Second Draft of the "Voter Empowerment Act of 2016" |
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10/05/15 | Wording of the New "Government Pension Cap Act of 2016" | |
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10/05/15 | Pension Initiative Backers Preparing New Measure | |
From June until September, the authors of the anti-pension ballot initiative polled the public and tried to gauge the potential success of their work. Upon realizing that the initial "Title and Summary" was not doing well, they eventually decided to try a new approach. On October 5th, they introduced two new initiatives with the hope of increasing their odds of success. Over the next two months, they plan to poll these initiatives and then pick one to finally qualify for the November 2016 ballot. | ||
09/15/15 | Vested Pension Right Under Attack | |
08/26/15 | (San Jose Mercury News) Initiative Would be a Disaster | |
08/24/15 | Calif Public Safety Labor Blog re: the Initiative | |
08/18/15 | (San Jose Murcury News) Pension Initiative is Misleading | |
08/15/15 | (LA Times) Count the Bad Ideas in Calif Pension Overhaul Proposal | |
08/12/15 | Chuck Reed Wants to Destroy California | |
08/11/15 | Title and Summary of the First Initiatitve (from the Attorney General) | |
07/29/15 | Pension Initiative Would Cause Uncertainties | |
07/27/15 | Legislative Analyst Office Report of the First Initiative | |
07/24/15 | What Really Happens When Pensions Disappear | |
07/01/15 | Latest Assault on Public Employees | |
06/04/15 | Request for "Title and Summary" of Initiative | |
06/04/15 | Wording of the First Initiative (from Carl Demaio website) | |
Over the new year, we will continue to post informative about the proposted 2016 Pension initiative. The initiative would change the California Constitution and essentially destroy defined benefit pensions for all government workers. The initiative is the idea of former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and former San Diego Councilman Carl DeMaio. It is deceptively titled "The 2016 Voter Empowerment Act" but it completely designed to push public employees out of traditional pensions. |
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