Those who leave office in January would get retirement package based on a salary increase granted in December
Contra Costa Times (California)
Top elected officials in California who leave office in January could be eligible for lifetime pension benefits based on a salary they had earned for only about four weeks.
The oddity would apply to Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, for example, if he loses to Republican Steve Poizner in his campaign to become insurance commissioner.
Claude Parrish, currently a Board of Equalization member, also would benefit from the pension sweetener if he is defeated in the Nov. 7 election for state treasurer, state records show.
Outgoing Controller Steve Westly qualifies for the retirement boost, but he has said he will voluntarily forgo it.
The potential windfall stems from a little-known provision in state law coupled with a new 18 percent salary boost, effective Dec. 4, for constitutional officers ranging from the governor to Board of Equalization members.
Critics say the situation amounts to a golden parachute for, at most, a handful of the best-paid politicians in state government.
“Unbelievable,” said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. “There are days when I think I’ve seen it all, and I can’t be shocked by anything else — then something like this happens.”
Assemblyman Keith Richman, a Northridge Republican who has pushed hard for pension reform, called it “another rip-off of the taxpayers.”
“It’s outrageous,” said Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. “At a time when we’re having to assess whether disabled Californians can get basic cost-of-living adjustments, it’s outrageous for constitutional officers to take a platinum parachute from the public based on a salary they only had for a couple days.”
Specific benefits to constitutional officers vary.
For pensions to jump immediately, officeholders must accept the new pay increase, be members of the Legislators Retirement System — rather than CalPERS — and leave office when their current terms expire Jan. 8.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger never has accepted his $206,500 annual salary since taking office in 2003, and Treasurer Phil Angelides, Democratic Party candidate for governor, has said he will not accept the new pay increase.
Secretary of State Bruce McPherson, currently running for re-election, formally rejected his Dec. 4 salary increase in a letter dated Tuesday.
Westly rejected a salary boost from his current $140,000 per year to $165,200.
Scheduled pay increases, ranging from $23,625 to $31,500 per year, were approved last month by an independent state commission charged with setting such salaries under Proposition 112, approved by voters in 1990.
When the new rates take effect, pay for constitutional officers will range from a high of $206,500 per year for the governor to a low of $154,875 for members of the state Board of Equalization.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell plans to accept his pay increase, boosting his annual salary to $175,525, but he will not leave office next year.
O’Connell, whose post is nonpartisan, was elected to a new four-year term by capturing more than 50 percent of the vote in the June primary.
O’Connell’s pension will be determined largely by his highest annual salary, which conceivably could come before his term expires in 2010.
Several other constitutional officers are running on the Nov. 7 ballot and, like O’Connell, could see their highest salaries in years to come.
Termed-out Attorney General Bill Lockyer is running for state treasurer; Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi for lieutenant governor; Board of Equalization member John Chiang for state controller; and BOE members Bill Leonard and Betty Yee are running for re-election.
Under state law, constitutional officers have the option of participating in the Legislators Retirement System or a parallel plan, CalPERS, that bases pension benefits on the highest average pay received over 12 consecutive months.
By contrast, LRS bases benefits on the “highest salary received while in office,” regardless of how long that pay was received, said Edward Fong, public affairs manager for CalPERS, which administers the LRS plan.
Lockyer, among others, is a participant in both plans as a current constitutional officer and a 25-year lawmaker who served in the Legislature before pensions were banned for legislators first elected in 1990 or later.
Tom Dresslar, a Lockyer spokesman, said the attorney general was not aware of any pension benefits linked to the Dec. 4 salary increase.
“Getting down to the practical effect, the real-world impact on his retirement is going to be minimal,” Dresslar said.
Thomas Dominguez, a member of the California Citizens Compensation Commission, which approved the Dec. 4 pay increase, said state law does not allow the panel to consider pension impacts.
“The commission does not set pension benefits,” he said. “The commission has strict parameters on how we are to determine salaries — and that’s how I personally make my decision.”
Under Prop. 112, the compensation commission must consider several specific factors, including scope of responsibility, time needed to perform the function and compensation levels in comparable elected offices.
