Brown proposes pension reform plan - sort of

The governor listed seven specific ideas for ending abuses and tightening pension funding rules - stuff like prohibiting retroactive pension increases and putting an end to pension spiking, where the salary of workers is artificially inflated in the years preceding retirement (resulting in higher pensions). (see Sacramento Bee item). The ideas seem reasonable, but would hardly make a dent in the giant pension shortfalls. Then, at the end of his memo, Brown lists five "proposals under development." The list includes "imposing pension benefit cap" and "hybrid option," ideas that are far more substantive - and far less palatable to the unions. There is no explanation about the items, so no way of knowing the context. We'll keep an eye out for more information.