Every once in a while, Sacramento delivers a surprise. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed AB 1383 this week, stopping a high-profile effort by public safety unions to roll back key provisions of California’s 2012 Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) that could have radically increased pension costs for state and local governments. The veto was anything...
In a display of power that ought to be used for public benefit, California’s public servants have instead prioritized their personal financial interests. Unions representing the state’s police and firefighters pushed a bill through the state legislature that will increase their pension benefits, despite the state’s pension systems barely achieving solvency thanks to critical reforms passed in 2012 combined...
CalSTRS earned 13.9% on investments for the year ended June 30, 2026, up from 8.5%, and called it a significant step toward full funding. The National Association of State Retirement Administrators said this is “a marathon, not a sprint.”[1] Thirty years in local government finance taught me to distrust a figure that measures the wrong...
This spring, Marin County launched a second round of participatory budgeting, inviting residents to help decide how another $2.5 million in public funds should be spent. The program reflects California’s growing embrace of participatory budgeting as an innovative reform. The idea clearly resonates with many people. More participation should produce better government. It won’t. A...