Emmerson Calls State Pension 'Unsustainable'

Four state senators, including Sen. Bill Emmerson, called today for pension reforms to save California at least $17 billion over the next 30 yeras.

Senators Tom Berryhill, Anthony Cannella, Bill Emmerson, and Tom Harman issued a joint statement Thursday in response to the CalPERS cost analysis, which they requested last June of Senate Constitutional Amendment 13. 

“According to the CalPERS’ assessment, SCA 13, if enacted, could save our state at least $17 billion and our schools an additional $10 billion over the next 30 years," the senators said.

“The public employee pension crisis threatens the financial stability of the entire state budget. When CalPERS lowered their investment forecast by .25 percent this week, it translated into millions of additional taxpayer dollars going to public employee pensions. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Clearly, our pension system, as is, is unsustainable and must be fixed immediately"

They added that SCA 13 would address unfunded liabilities.

“We call on our Democrat colleagues to join the Governor, legislative Republicans and 83 percent of Californians favoring pension reform in a bipartisan effort to enact meaningful changes to the public employee pension system," the statement said.