California's fiscal mess -- now slowly on the mend -- has drawn jibes from around the nation, but one state's dilemma stands out as even worse because of its public-pension debt -- Illinois. Now the question is whether Illinois' woe will be replicated in California.
From Calpensions' Ed Mendel: "Like other pension funds, the five Illinois state pension funds were hit by big investment losses during the decade. But what sets Illinois apart, with a funding level that fell to 38 percent, is the failure to make actuarially required contributions."
“The funding crisis is the result of the deliberate underfunding of pensions year after year, a practice as old as the pension funds themselves, dating back to the creation of the first pension fund: the Teachers’ Retirement System in 1939,” says the governor’s website."
"Most California public pensions get actuarially required contributions. Unlike Illinois, nearly all of the retirement systems here have the power to set annual rates calculated by actuaries that must be paid by state and local government employers."
Speaking of money, California booted its budget projections in November, largely because of miscalculations about Facebook's initial public offering, according to the state controller.
From the Bee's Kevin Yamamura: "California missed its November revenue target by $806.8 million, or 10.8 percent, after a bad projection about tax proceeds from Facebook insiders and an unexpectedly high amount of corporate refunds, the State Controller's Office said Friday."
"State budget writers assumed that Facebook insiders would sell a large batch of stock in November at $35 per share, resulting in a tax windfall for the state. But those insiders executed their transactions a month early, state officials say, resulting in more money than expected in October but far less in November. Not only that, but until late November, Facebook shares had been trading below $25 per share."
"Those factors contributed to California missing its November personal income tax target by $842.5 million, or 19.0 percent. By comparison, the state exceeded its October target by $378.4 million."
The Nov. 6 election, important in so many ways, also was a tipping point for ethnic voters who flexed their political muscle.
From HealthyCal's Daniel Weintraub: " It appears that for the first time, California Latinos, Asian-Americans and blacks voted last month in numbers roughly equivalent to their share of registered voters. About 40 percent of California’s electorate is now non-white. And ethnic voters made up about 40 percent of those who mailed in their ballots or went to the polls Nov. 6."
"This should be a wake-up call to Republicans, here and across the country."
"While white voters in California still lean conservative and will support Republican candidates, ethnic voters are overwhelmingly Democrats or independents who sympathize with that party. If Republicans can no longer count on large numbers of those voters to stay home on election day, the party is going to have to appeal to them — or risk permanent irrelevance."
The homeless and other poor people in California are expected to be eligible for free or low-cost cell phones and service, under a program getting support from the Public Utilities Commission.
From the Chronicle's Kevin Fagan: "The cell phones would be handed out through a federally funded Lifeline program - already operated by service provider Assurance Wireless in 36 other states - that is likely to win final approval in the next couple of weeks from the California Public Utilities Commission."
"State PUC officials have been reviewing the Lifeline proposal from Assurance Wireless for three years. Word came Thursday that all but a minor detail had been approved, ending years of effort by advocates for homeless people."
"This is great - it is transformative for homeless and low-income people," said Bevan Dufty, San Francisco's head of homeless initiatives, who has been one of the program's most ardent advocates. "I expect San Francisco to be in the forefront and a model city for this program."
A new takes effect on Jan. 1 that bans the use of gag orders in legal settlements, ending the practince in which the people who sue licensed professionals such as nurses and contractors are barred from discsussing their settlements.
From Christina Jewitt at California Watch: "The law prohibits civil legal settlements that bar consumers from cooperating with authorities who probe negligence and other misconduct by state licensees, including accountants, veterinarians, pharmacists, behavioral therapists and physician assistants. Laws banning such gag clauses in settlements with physicians and lawyers already are on the books in California...."
"An analysis of the new law discusses several cases in which appellate courts found that regulatory gag clauses were contrary to the public interest."
"In one 1996 case, a teacher sued his district for sending details about his resignation to the Commission and Committee on Teacher Credentialing. Even though a nondisclosure agreement was in place, the court sided with the district that filed the report on the teacher, saying “there would be no genuine oversight” of teacher credentials if the teacher could dictate what overseers see."
--
Editor's Note: Corrects "pubic" to "public" in the lead paragraph.
