LAO: Measure to Hike State Retirement Age Likely Would Cause More Harm Than Good

August 22, 2011

For Immediate Release: August 22, 2011
 
***For Immediate Release***
LAO: Measure to Hike State Retirement Age Likely Would Cause More Harm Than Good
 
SACRAMENTO – The Legislative Analyst’s Office has confirmed that a flawed proposed ballot measure to raise the retirement age for public employees “raises several significant legal and implementation issues that make it uncertain as to how its provisions would be implemented.”

Even analysts experienced in reading proposed propositions found the jumbled language undecipherable and determined the measure faces certain lawsuits. The analyst also found the proposition likely would amount to additional costs in other areas and would force local governments to end their contracts with CalPERS, which drives important economic activity in communities across the state.

"As the analyst’s independent analysis discovered, this ballot measure is a Pandora's box of half-baked ideas. It is fundamentally flawed, likely unconstitutional and will cost taxpayers more in the long run," said Dave Low, chairman of Californians for Retirement Security. “As we see a flurry of ballot measures crop up to attack public employees, we must shield taxpayers from this type of ill-conceived effort that would do more harm than good.”

Read the analysis at http://www.lao.ca.gov/ballot/2011/110522.aspx

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