Rethinking private pensions

Sep 16, 2016

Gov. Brown is considering a landmark overhaul of the pension model for private-sector employees, the 'Secure Choice' program.

 

ALEX MATTHEWS with Capitol Weekly: "In a decision that could serve as a national model, Gov. Jerry Brown is considering legislation to allow millions of private-sector employees to steadily build their pensions without interruption — even when they change jobs."

 

"The program, called Secure Choice, would be one of the country’s few state-run, automatic and portable retirement fund for private employees and could directly affect some seven million California workers. California is one of eight states that have passed similar legislation – the others are Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Oregon, Massachusetts, and Washington – and the California version is viewed as one of the most comprehensive."

 

“People are expected to bear much of the risk of retirement savings themselves and many don’t have access [to savings programs],” said Grant Boyken, executive director of the Secure Choice Investment Board. “The outlook for subsequent generations is even worse.”

 

Kamala Harris' opponent, Loretta Sanchez, has opened up a new angle of attack under Herbalife in the race for the U.S. Senate seat.

 

JAVIER PANZER with L.A. Times: "Rep. Loretta Sanchez opened up a new line of attack against state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris on Thursday, criticizing her opponent in California’s U.S. Senate race for not doing enough to protect consumers from what she called the "predatory practices" of nutritional company Herbalife."

 

"In July, the Los Angeles company agreed to a $200-million settlement and to change its business practices after federal regulators found that the company falsely told people they could quickly get rich by selling its weight-loss shakes, teas and other supplements."

 

"On top of the settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, Herbalife also agreed to pay $3 million to settle an investigation by the Illinois attorney general’s office."

 

READ MORE related to Senate: Lucy Koh from South Bay gets Senate panel OK for appeals court -- BOB EGELKO with The Chronicle

 

Some local officials are calling for an overhaul of the state social worker drug screening program for parents receiving disbursements from the state.

 

JOE NELSON with The Sun: "San Bernardino County Supervisor Robert Lovingood is pushing for a change in state and federal laws that would allow social workers to drug-test parents suspected of being under the influence."

 

"There is nothing more important than protecting children from abuse and neglect. It’s time for state and federal law to give local communities the ability to prevent tragedy,” Lovingood said in a statement Thursday."

 

"Lovingood’s proposal comes in the wake of the Board of Supervisors declining on Tuesday to adopt a policy, recommended by the San Bernardino County grand jury in its annual report released July 1, to furnish social workers with instant drug testing kits and train them on their use to determine if parents are under the influence of drugs. The grand jury also recommended that the policy allow social workers to immediately remove children from the home if they suspect the children are in danger."

 

The governor has signed legislation aimed specifically at protecting female janitorial workers from sexual predation at work.

 

CPR's Ben Adler: "California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill intended to give new protections to female janitors against sexual predators at their work places."

"The measure was inspired by last year's PBS Frontline documentary "Rape on the Night Shift."
"It requires companies that employ janitors to register and receive licenses from the state. It also requires sexual harassment and violence prevention training for janitorial workers."

 

As the drought shows no sign of relenting, conservation efforts around the state begin to amp up.

 

Carolyn Lochhead with The Chronicle: "San Francisco faces potentially drastic cutbacks in its water supply, as state regulators proposed leaving more water in three Northern California rivers Thursday to protect wildlife in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta estuary, the linchpin of California’s water supply."

 

"The draft rules by the State Water Resources Control Board would raise the amount of water into the Merced, Stanislaus and Tuolumne rivers to 30 to 50 percent of what would naturally flow in them. That means less water would be available for urban users and farmers in the northern San Joaquin Valley, compounding their need to conserve."

 

"Current flows into those rivers dip as low as 10 percent during parts of the year, and, if the plan is made final, state officials said they would start the increase with a midpoint of 40 percent during spring flows from February through June."

 

READ MORE related to Water: A plan to keep rivers flowing for fish triggers another water fight -- BETTINA BOXALL with L.A. Times; Regulators propose leaving more water for fish in river -- ELLEN KNICKMEYER with AP

 

Many young undocumented immigrants working and being educated in the United States have found a second home at their 'DREAMER resource centers.'

 

EdSource's Larry Gordon: "For Gustavo Garcia-Rojas, the recent theft of his backpack and wallet was more than an inconvenience — it was a threat to his life in the United States. Among the items taken was his federal identity and work authorization card, which is supposed to protect him from deportation."

 

"Lucky for him, Garcia-Rojas, who was brought to the United States at age 7 from Mexico without immigration documents, had somewhere to turn."

 

"As a student at Sacramento State University, he had access to the campus’ year-old Dreamer Resource Center for advice on how to get a replacement card under the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program. That federal measure allows some undocumented young people like him — who are widely known as Dreamers — to live and work openly in the United States without fear of sanctions."

 

READ MORE in Education: U.C. Berkeley in recent rankings -- SYDNEY FIX and LILLIAN HOMES with The Daily Californian

 

And in marijuana legalization news, many wonder what the State will do with all of the tax revenue from pot sales.

 

BROOKE EDWARDS with O.C. Register: "If you probe why the polls show a majority of California voters support a statewide effort to legalize recreational marijuana, increased tax revenue inevitably comes up."

 

"UC Irvine student Giovanni Chavez, like many backers of legalized pot, says he’s primarily concerned about personal liberty and studies showing disproportionate prosecution of minorities for drug offenses."

 

"But after watching state and local governments struggle through recurring budget crises, the aspiring political consultant said state-regulated marijuana sales would provide a new and needed stream of tax dollars."

 

Small businesses that are a part of the Covered California network will see a 5.9% increase in price cost.

 

AP in KPCC: "Small business employees who get health coverage through the Covered California health insurance exchange will see an average price increase of 5.9 percent next year."

 

"The figure announced Thursday affects about 28,000 people who work for companies with up to 100 employees."

 

"The 5.9 percent rate increase is smaller than last year's increase of 7.2 percent for small businesses. It's also smaller than the 13.2 percent increase in average premiums for Covered California's much larger individual market, which serves about 1.4 million people."