Chuck Reed's Pension Attack Fails to Make the Ballot for a Third Time

Earlier today, former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed admitted defeat for his third attempt to attack public employees' retirement security.  Accordingly to the Sacramento Bee, the move appears to be motivated by poor polling for the initiative and Reed's inability to raise enough money to pay people to gather signatures in support of the measure.

Reed's campaign for a statewide attack on retirement security follows his failed attempt to attack pensions in San Jose.  Despite his repeated failures of this issue, Reed said he and his partners planned to bring the issue up again in 2018.  He said in a press release that he planned to "re-file at least one of our pension reform measures later this year for the November 2018 ballot."

Reed is joined in his effort by Pacific Grove Mayor Bill Kampe and San Diego politician Carl DeMaio.  Pacific Grove's attack on pensions was ruled unconstitutional in 2013.

California Attorney General Releases Title and Summary for Pension Busting Initiative

On August 11, 2015, the Office of the Attorney General released its title and summary for former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed's pension busting initiative. The highly divisive initiative would strip pensions from public employees and allow voters to modify compensation packages at will. Fortunately, the Office of the Attorney General's title and summary highlight the problems with this initiative.

 

All ballot initiatives must be submitted to the Office of the Attorney General prior to being placed on the ballot. The Office of the Attorney General creates a title and summary of the initiative to appear on the actual ballot. 

 

The title the Office of the Attorney General gave Reed's initiative is "Public Employees. Pension and Retiree Healthcare Benefits. Initiative and Constitutional Amendment." The summary aptly states the initiative, "[e]liminates constitutional protections for vested pension and retiree healthcare benefits for current public employees." This language demonstrates how drastic this reform is and how it will prejudice California's public employees. The summary also notes the long term effects of the initiative are unknown and "depend heavily on future decisions made by voters, governmental employers, and the courts."

 

Mastagni Holstedt, APC has used the Contracts Clause in California’s Constitution to protect vested employee benefits in several high profile court battles: Stockton (fiscal emergency declaration does not authorize City to renegotiate a closed labor contract), Los Angeles (fiscal emergency declaration does not permit freezing retiree medical benefits or imposing furloughs), Pacific Grove (Ballot measure capping PERS pension contributions unconstitutional).  Similar rulings were obtained by the police and fire unions in San Jose invalidating in substantial measure Reed’s San Jose pension impairments.

 

This pension "reform" effort is led by Democrat Chuck Reed and his lawyers. As we blogged previously, the initiative amends the California Constitution to allow voters to impair employment contracts. While Reed claims his measure will not impair current employees' pensions, even Daniel Borenstein of the Contra Costa Times has acknowledged "the initiative would amend the state Constitution to give voters the right through an initiative or referendum to reduce the future pension accrual rate for current employees…Reed and DeMaio should be honest about it, or abandon the measure."

 

Additionally, the Constitutional amendment would abolish pensions for employees hired after January 1, 2019 and replace them with a "defined-contribution" system unless changes to benefits are approved in an election.  In a defined-contribution system, employees have to pay in a fixed amount with no guarantee of what their retirement income would be.  As a result, this approach shifts the risk and could prevent thousands of public employees from retiring.

 

The proposal is not limited to retirement benefits.  It provides, "Voters have the right to use the power of initiative or referendum... to determine the amount of and manner in which compensation and retirement benefits are provided to employees of a government employer."  As a result, the Constitutional Amendment would likely be used to pursue local voter initiatives to bypass collective bargaining to reduce public safety compensation or due process rights.

 

The proposal also seriously jeopardizes death and disability benefits for public safety employees. The new proposal states it shall not be “interpreted to modify or limit any disability benefits provided for government employees or death benefits for families.” But death and disability benefits are often an integral part of a pension plan. As noted by the Legislative Analyst's Office, death and disability benefits are usually prefunded through a pension plan's normal cost. If voters can modify, or even eliminate, pensions for public employees, this necessarily means the funding for death and disability benefits will be cut.  The measure does not provide any means of securing those benefits.

 

The proposal also seeks to insulate future measures from legal challenge by eliminating the jurisdiction of the Public Employment Relations Board to hear unfair practice charges regarding future measures which impair vested rights or collective bargaining agreements. 

 

Now that the initiative has a summary, the proponents must furnish the required number of signatures in order to make the November 2016 ballot. You can help stop this initiative by educating your family, friends, and community members about the drastic and detrimental effects of this initiative and encourage them not to sign any petition supporting the initiative. You can help stop future attempts to impair retirement benefits by opposing all candidates who endorse this imitative.

Chuck Reed Tries New Tactic in Pension Assault

Chuck Reed announced a new strategy to attack pensions in California today.  The text of new proposal has several features designed to take away employees retirement benefits.

It would abolish pensions for employees hired after January 1, 2019 and replace them with a "defined-contribution" system unless changes to benefits are approved in an election.  In a defined-contribution system, employees have to pay in a fixed amount with no guarantee of what their retirement income would be.  As a result, this approach shifts the risk and could result in thousands of public employees unable to retire.

The proposal is not limited to retirement benefits.  It provides, "Voters have the right to use the power of initiative or referendum... to determine the amount of and manner in which compensation and retirement benefits are provided to employees of a government employer."  As a result, the measure could be read to allow voter initiatives to eliminate or change MOUs, severely limiting collective bargaining in California.

The proposal also seeks to prevent the Public Employment Relations Board from hearing unfair practice cases involving ballot measures to strip employees of bargained-for compensation.

Illinois Supreme Court Blocks Attack On State-Funded Pensions

The Illinois Supreme Court blocked an attack on state employees and their pensions when it upheld a lower court ruling on May 8, 2015. In Pension Reform Litigation v. Pat Quinn, the Court struck down a 2013 law aimed at slashing state-funded public employee pensions. The Court ruled the law violated the Illinois State Constitution’s contracts clause.

In 1970, Illinois ratified an amendment to its constitution protecting state-funded pensions. From 1970 until 2013, the funding for the state-funded pensions stagnated, having only 41% of the funding necessary to meet the fund’s liabilities. Conversely, the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund is funded at 96%. The IMRF is not state funded.

To meet growing concerns with its state-funded pensions and other budgetary issues, the Illinois state legislature passed Public Act 98-599. The heart of PA 98-599 aimed to cut state-funded pensions. The bill sought to delay eligibility for members. It also capped the maximum salary used to calculate benefits. PA 98-599 then tried to effectively reduce base pension amounts for some members. Senator Kwame Raoul, one of PA 98-599’s chief sponsors, characterized the bill as sacrificing state employee pensions to protect state finances.

Former Governor Pat Quinn signed PA 98-599 in 2013. Five separate lawsuits challenging the law’s validity were immediately filed. The lawsuits, all decided in this case, claimed that PA 98-599 violated Illinois’s contracts clause. Just like the California's contracts clause, the Illinois Constitution prohibits the impairment of state pensions. PA 98-599’s proponents characterized the bill as an exercise of the legislature’s emergency police powers. The Illinois Supreme Court disagreed. The Court ruled that the PA 98-599 violates the Illinois Constitution.

The Illinois Supreme Court warned against a slippery slope of unnecessarily using police powers. Writing for the Court, Justice Lloyd Karmeier instructed that emergency police powers must be reserved for true emergencies. If not, “no rights or property would be safe from the State. Today it is nullification of the right to retirement benefits. Tomorrow it could be renunciation of the duty to repay State obligations. Eventually, investment capital could be seized.” Justice Karmeier further explained that “crisis is not an excuse to abandon the rule of law. It is a summons to defend it.” The Court pointed to the possibility of raising taxes to meet the fund’s needs.

The Illinois pension victory represents just one battle in that state’s fight. Though the ruling came from the Midwest, the fallout hits close to home. Just like Chuck Reed here in California, Governor Bruce Rauner wants to amend the Illinois constitution so that he can gut state-funded pensions.

Similar attacks on retiree benefits have failed in California on similar grounds.  In Stockton, the superior court found a fiscal emergency declaration does not authorize City to renegotiate a closed labor contract.  In Los Angeles, a court determined a fiscal emergency declaration does not permit freezing retiree medical benefits or imposing furloughs, and in Pacific Grove the court found a local ballot measure capping PERS pension contributions violated California's contracts clause.  Mastagni Holstedt attorneys David E. Mastagni and Isaac S. Stevens represented the employee groups in Stockton and Los Angeles.  Mastagni Holstedt attorney Jeffrey R. A. Edwards represented the employee groups in Pacific Grove.

Chuck Reed Provides a Preview of His Threatened Assault on the California Constitution

On April 10, 2015, the Reason Foundation held their third annual Pension Summit. The Summit focused on a recent report by the Foundation which concluded the 2012 Public Employees' Pension Reform Act failed to fix California's pension problems. The keynote speaker for the event was former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed. Reed presented his 2016 ballot initiative aimed at dismantling California pensions at the event. IAFF Local 522, along with other public employee organizations, picketed the event, letting Reed know his pension busting efforts are not welcome in Sacramento.

Pat Cook, in blue,
Local 522
Secretary-Treasurer

After a string of court losses invalidating local governments' efforts to break their contractual obligations, Reed seeks to undermine Californians' constitutional rights by eliminating or altering the Contracts Clause in California’s Constitution. Currently, both the United States' Constitution and California’s Constitution include a Contracts Clause barring public entities from taking actions impairing contracts. The courts have construed the Contracts Clause as requiring the state, counties, and cities to provide promised pension benefits. In Allen v. City of Long Beach the California Supreme Court held an employee has a vested (i.e. contractual) right to receive the pension benefits his public employer promised him.

Mike Feyh, in green, Local 522 Director of Membership Services

The Contracts Clause prevents public entities from walking away from all their contractual obligations, not just pension obligations. The Contracts Clause protects all Californians from legislation that impairs contracts with public entities, such as bond repayment obligations and commercial contracts. Without it, public entities would likely not even be able to borrow from the bond market, because financial institutions would not be able to rely on agencies' promises to repay their debts. While Reed's goal is to attack public employees' property rights in their pension, his efforts could undermine governments' contracts with private citizens, vendors, businesses, and lenders.

In recent years, California courts have rejected local governments’ attempts to impair employees’ vested benefits to address supposed “fiscal emergencies.” Our office vindicated both the U.S. and California Contracts Clauses in several high profile court battles: Stockton (fiscal emergency declaration does not authorize City to renegotiate a closed labor contract), Los Angeles (fiscal emergency declaration does not permit freezing retiree medical benefits or imposing furloughs), Pacific Grove (Ballot measure capping PERS pension contributions unconstitutional).  Similar rulings were obtained by the police and fire unions in San Jose invalidating in substantial measure Reed’s San Jose pension impairments.

To circumvent these Constitutional protections, Reed's initiative would grant public entities Chapter 9 Bankruptcy type powers to unilaterally modify their contractual obligations, but without the creditor protections and judicial oversight of bankruptcy proceedings. Reed abandoned a similar initiative on the ballot for the 2014 election after unsuccessfully suing Attorney General Kamala Harris over the title and summary her office assigned to it.



Chris Andrew, Local 522
 City Vice President

Reed’s initiative would modify the Contracts Clause to allow public entities to impair their contractual obligations by majority vote of their governing body. Reed’s new initiative would likely accomplish this by repealing the California Contracts Clause altogether or singling out public employees for elimination of their Constitutional rights. Either approach is repugnant. Excluding public employees’ contracts from the Contracts Clause would allow governments to redirect money promised to public safety employees for politicians' personal spending priorities (politicians rarely return savings to the tax payers). Eliminating the Contracts Clause altogether would threaten everyone's contracts with the government.

 
 

Reed’s new initiative also fails to account for the Contracts Clause of the U.S.  Constitution which provides the same protection against impairments of contract. Even if Reed succeeds in altering the California Constitution, future attacks on vested pension benefits will likely remain unconstitutional under the U.S. Constitution.  California courts have held that the California and United States Contracts Clauses are construed the same. (See for example San Bernardino Public Employees Assn. v. City of Fontana and Kern v. City of Long Beach.) In the last 47 years, no court in the Ninth Circuit has upheld a public agency’s attempt to impair its own contractual obligations. (See So. Cal. Gas Co. v. Santa Ana.) Thus, damaging the California Constitution will not insulate Mr. Reed’s agenda from Constitutional protection.

Public employees are already working to expose Reed’s new initiative for what it is: an attempt to use the ballot box to accomplish what the courts already prohibited governments from doing. Keep an eye on this blog for continuing updates on Reed’s efforts to rewrite our Constitution.



Court Strikes Down San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed’s Challenge to Attorney General’s Summary of His Pension Reform Act

On March 17, 2014, a Superior Court judge rejected Mayor Chuck Reed’s challenge to the Attorney General’s summary of his “Pension Reform Act of 2014.”  Reed claimed the first sentence of Attorney General Kamala D. Harris’s summary was false, partial, and argumentative.  The Court analyzed the Attorney General’s sentence word-by-word, and found it was not false, misleading, or partial in any way. 

Attorney generals summarize each ballot initiative for voters in 100 words or less.  The summary appears on the initiative petition circulated among voters.  If a minimum number of voters sign the initiative petition, the initiative appears on the ballot.  The summary gives voters a sense of the measure’s purpose without creating prejudice for or against the proposed measure.  Attorney General Kamala D. Harris wrote the title and summary for Reed’s Pension Reform Act.  Reed challenged the first sentence of the summary, which stated:  “Eliminates constitutional protections for vested pension and retiree healthcare benefits for current public employees, including teachers, nurses, and peace officers, for future work performed.” 

First, Reed claimed the word “eliminates” was misleading because the initiative does not repeal or replace any provision of the state Constitution.  The Court agreed the initiative does not eliminate any provision of the state Constitution.  But the summary does not state the initiative eliminates constitutional provisions – the summary states the initiative eliminates constitutional protections.  The Court found the Attorney General’s characterization was accurate. 

Second, Reed argued the phrase “constitutional protections” is false and misleading because the California Rule granting public employees vested pension rights in retirement benefits is not constitutionally based.  The Court replied, “If the California Supreme Court says the California Rule’s protections are constitutionally based, they are.”

Next, Reed ignored California Supreme Court precedent a second time, arguing the word “vested” is false and misleading.  Reed claimed the word “vested” only describes benefits that have already been earned through past service, not benefits earned through future service.  Again, the California Supreme Court has used the term extensively to describe benefits earned through future service.

Finally, Reed challenged the Attorney General identifying “teachers, nurses, and peace officers” as affected public employees.  Reed claimed the Attorney General cherry-picked three very popular job classifications of public employees to discourage voter support.  In fact, those three job classifications make up close to half of all public employees.  The Court found the Attorney General accurately and concisely identified the affected employees for voters.  

The Court's decision marks another blow to Mayor Chuck Reed's initiative, which seeks to eliminate fundamental constitutional protections for California's public employees. 

Court of Appeal Rules CPRA Does Not Require Public Agencies to Disclose Officials’ Communications on Personal Accounts

On March 27, 2014, the California Court of Appeal held the California Public Records Act (CPRA) does not require public agencies to disclose officials’ communications about public business on personal email and cell phone accounts.  The Court held communications stored solely on private accounts are outside the reach of public records requests under the CPRA.   It is becoming increasingly common for public officials to conduct public business using private accounts.  While members of the public may seek disclosure of officials’ voicemails, text messages, and emails stored on public agencies’ accounts, communications on private accounts are protected from CPRA requests.

In June of 2009, Ted Smith requested, “voicemails, emails or text messages” on personal electronic devices about “matters concerning the City of San Jose” on private electronic devices owned by Mayor Chuck Reed, members of the City Council, and their staff.  The City agreed to produce records stored on its servers and those to or from private devices using City accounts, but refused to provide communications stored solely on personal accounts.  Smith responded by filing a lawsuit in Santa Clara County Superior Court.  The Superior Court sided with Smith and granted his request. 

The Court of Appeal overruled the Superior Court in favor of the City.  The Court found officials’ communications stored solely on personal devices don’t fall within reach of CPRA requests because they are not “owned, used, or retained” by the public agency.  The Court acknowledged public policy concerns of the public’s right to know versus the burden on the agency to provide the information.  However, the Court determined the Legislature is better suited to make such public policy decisions.  

The Court acknowledged public agencies have the right to create its own rules for disclosure of communications related to public business.  In fact, the City of San Jose adopted a resolution addressing this very issue after Smith filed his lawsuit.  Resolution No. 75293 was adopted on March 2, 2010.  The resolution revises City Council Policy 0-33 and allows public access to all communications of the mayor, City Council members, or their staff, regarding public business on private devices.  Mayor Chuck Reed himself signed the resolution.  However, the Court stated that the resolution was not relevant to the Court’s interpretation of the CPRA.

The full court opinion is posted here.