| ~ ~ Legislative Hot Lines ~ ~ |
02/24/2010 Pension Reduction Initiatives
& Iran Divestiture
The Californians For Fiscal Responsibility announced that neither Governor Schwarzenegger nor Gubernatorial Candidate Meg Whitman would be providing financial support to the pension reduction initiatives.
While this is good news, that does not mean there will not be other interests providing financial support.
The Governor Davis recall also did not appear to have the financial support to be successful but it did find late funding to be placed on the ballot.
It is too early to count the initiatives as failed.
The Senate Public Employees and Retirement Committee and the Assembly Public Employment, Retirement and Social Security Committee today held a joint hearing on Iran divestiture. Current law requires the California State Teachers’ Retirement System and the Public Employees’ Retirement System divest from investments in companies, and not make future investments in companies, that are doing specified business in Iran. The purpose of the hearing was to determine how the retirement systems were implementing the law. CalSTRS and PERS indicated they were implementing the law but it was a complex law that could not be implemented quickly while meeting California Constitutional requirements for fiduciary responsibility.
~ Dave Walrath |
1/21/2010 CalRTA Update
The CalRTA supported Senate Bill 810 passed the Senate Appropriations Committee this morning.
It next will be heard on the Senate Floor and should pass the full Senate by January 29, 2010.
Governor Schwarzenegger proposes full funding of the State contribution to the State Teachers’ Retirement Fund and the Supplemental Benefit Maintenance Account. All members of CalRTA should identify themselves as members of CalRTA and send a postcard to the Governor thanking him. The message is:
“Retired teachers recognize the state’s fiscal difficulties and know that meeting the CalSTRS contribution commitment was difficult.
As a retired teacher I thank you, Governor Schwarzenegger, for full funding the state’s contribution to the Supplemental Benefit Maintenance Account and the Teachers’ Retirement Fund.”
The Honorable Arnold Schwarzenegger
Governor, State of California
State Capitol, First Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
~ Dave Walrath
|
1/18/2010 CalRTA Update
Pension Initiatives Authorized for Circulation
CalRTA opposes the pension reduction initiatives that have just been authorized for circulation. The initiatives have a circulation deadline of June 14, 2010. Both initiatives are essentially the same and they do exactly what their title says:
“Reduces public pensions and retirement health care benefits.”
CalRTA urges all members not to sign any petition that starts with
“Reduces public pension and retirement health care benefits.”
CalRTA will provide more information regarding these attacks on teacher and other public employee pensions.
CalRTA will be conducting regional workshops as well as including information on these pension attacks in Contact and the Leadership newsletters.
~ Dave Walrath |
1/8/2010 CalRTA Update
While the Governor’s budget manipulates Proposition 98
and limits funding for numerous other programs,
it does include $1.25 billion for the state’s contribution to CalSTRS.
Of this, approximately $630 million is for the SBMA
(Supplemental Benefit Maintenance Account )
(Purchasing Power Protection) and
an additional $57 million to SBMA
for the interest payments owed from our
successful litigation to require the state’s contribution to SBMA.
~ Dave Walrath |
12/9/09 CalRTA Update
President Obama announced a new effort to increase jobs and
reduce unemployment. There is no better way to stimulate the economy to produce new jobs than to provide funds for retirees.
CalRTA urges you to contact your Representative in Congress by visiting https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
or call 202- 224-3121;
and the White House at 202-456-1111
or by visiting http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact to urge
a two-year suspension of the Windfall Elimination Provision
and the Government Pension Offset Social Security penalties.
Retirees will spend the money.
Thank you.
Dave Walrath |
11.11.09 CalRTA Update
Thank you to everyone who helped with the
November 7 Social Security Fairness Rallies.
A special thank you should be made to
Angelique and the state office staff,
Debbie Pate-Newberry, Polly Bacich and Joe Dion.
The rallies were successful and provide an impetus
for our next actions to achieve Social Security Fairness.
CalSTRS staff has developed a summary of how the new proposed pension attack initiatives would effect current and future CalSTRS members.
The analysis is attached for your information.
Please use this information for communicating with our membership.
The initiatives are at the Attorney General’s office for title and summary. They will not be circulated until very early in January.
Please include in your newsletters information urging our members
NOT to sign these initiative petitions.
~Dave Walrath |
11.6.09 CalRTA Update
The other shoe has dropped.
The anti public pension people have submitted another initiative
to the Attorney General for Title and Summary prior to circulating.
Fighting these proposals will become CalRTA’s highest state priority for 2010. This is why the CalRTA leadership created a Political Action Committee
to have the resources to fight pension attacks.
It appears we will have a reason to use the Political Action Committee funds
if the proposal qualifies for the November 2010 ballot.
There is still a long road before the proposed initiative qualifies for the ballot.
After receiving the Title and Summary
the initiative will have to gather almost 700,000 valid signatures
which is a challenging requirement.
Most successful initiatives collect more that 1,000,000 signatures
to ensure having the 700,000 valid registered voter signatures.
The next issue of the CalRTA Contact will have
a comprehensive review of the proposal.
~Dave Walrath |
10.30.09 Proposed Tax on Pensions Fails to Qualify
"The 'Tax on Pensions' proposed initiative has failed to qualify.
This was the proposal to have extortionate taxes on retiree pensions
and health care benefits.
So far there has not been a new pension attack initiative
filed with the Attorney General."
~Dave Walrath |
10.14.09 Proposed New Senior Funding
The President has asked Congress to provide a second $250 allocation to seniors. The purpose would be to provide purchasing power at a time when Social Security will not be increasing.
“The President’s proposal would provide an additional year of the $250 "Economic Recovery Payments" initially enacted under the American Reinvestment & Recovery Act (ARRA). Under this proposal:
"57 million people would benefit. These include 49 million Social Security beneficiaries, 5 million Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries, 2 million veterans benefit recipients, 0.5 million railroad retirement and disability beneficiaries, and also about 1 million public-employee retirees not entitled to any of the previous benefits . "
~ Dave Walrath |
09.02.09 Senate Passes AJR 10
On September 1st the State Senate passed, by a bipartisan 26-8 vote, the CalRTA sponsored Assembly Joint Resolution 10 by Assembly Member Torlakson.
AJR 10 would urge Congress to pass and President Obama to sign the Social Security Fairness Acts (HR 235 and S 484).
HR 235 and S 484 would repeal the Social Security penalties that are applied to California educators’ earned Social Security benefits.
Passing the Acts is CalRTA’s highest federal advocacy priority.
~Dave Walrath
|
07.30.09 CalRTA UPDATE
HR 235 now has 300 co-sponsors.
HR 235 is the CalRTA and the California Social Security Fairness Coalition’s legislation to repeal the Social Security penalties that hurt California educators and other public employees.
HR 235 would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset that reduces and eliminates earned Social Security benefits.
CalRTA congratulates Representative Duncan Hunter Jr. as the most recent California co-sponsor of HR 235.
~ Dave Walrath
|
07.21.09 CalSTRS UPDATE
On July 21st the State Teachers’ Retirement System announced they have a $118.8 billion portfolio to pay for retirement benefits after the fund has lost 25% of its value during 2008-09.
All STRS benefits are safe.
The fund is still solvent.
Just as the fund had losses in 2000 and 2001 that were later recovered, these losses will be recovered through future investment earnings.
~ Dave Walrath
|
07.07.09: CalRTA UPDATE
The McCauley Initiative to
renegotiate vested retirement benefits
failed to qualify; it is no longer a threat.
The second McCauley initiative imposing
new taxes on pension, health care
and Social Security retirement benefits, however,
is still in circulation.
CalRTA opposes the second McCauley initiative
as the Association opposed the first initiative.
We can not let our guard down in
protecting our retirement benefits.
~ Dave Walrath |
