No State Action on Local Pension Reform Until After Vote

Updated 9:53 p.m. 

The state Public Employment Relations Board will not be able to take action against an initiative to reform the city of San Diego's pension system until after it has been voted on, the City Attorney's Office announced Wednesday.

Judge Luis Vargas granted the city's motions to quash subpoenas issued previously by an administrative law judge and delay any PERB administrative proceedings, pending a June 22 status conference -- 17 days after the election.

City labor leaders went to the agency last month in an effort to get Proposition B removed from the ballot. While the board has sided with the unions, Vargas became the second judge to rule in favor of the city in the dispute.

City Attorney Jan Goldsmith told reporters an administrative hearing that had been scheduled by PERB for next Monday "would have been a circus."

Area labor leaders contend the initiative, which would offer 401(k) plans to most new employees instead of enrolling them in the debt-ridden pension system, is essentially a city-sponsored measure since its chief backers include Mayor Jerry Sanders and Councilman Carl DeMaio.

If so, that would require the city to negotiate the contents of the measure with the six labor groups that represent San Diego municipal workers.

Backers of Proposition B, which would also figure only base compensation over the next five years into the eventual retirement pay of workers, say it is the product of private citizens, which does not require discussions with labor in advance of the election.

The city attorney said the measure is a citizens initiative because it qualified for the ballot with 116,000 signatures. Whether Sanders and DeMaio support it has no bearing on whether it should be on the ballot, he said.

"PERB has no jurisdiction over citizen initiatives and whether they should go on the ballot or not," Goldsmith said.

Both sides agree that if the measure passes, the unions will need to be consulted regarding implementation of the new rules. He said that will also be the time for any legal challenges.

"This will all be heard after the election, if it passes," Goldsmith said. "Everyone will get their day in court."

Another effort to have the measure taken off the ballot -- a civic activist claimed it violated the City Charter -- was also rejected by a judge in a ruling issued last month.

-City News Service