California lawmakers are expected to vote tomorrow on the pensions deal reached earlier this week by Governor Jerry Brown and legislative Democrats.
The public has only seen the bill for a couple of days and reactions are just starting to come in.
Dwight Stenbakken with the League of California Cities says the deal isn’t perfect. But he says it’ll bring some much-needed flexibility to local governments desperate for cost savings. “We have a lot of work to do at the local government collective bargaining table now but this will give us the tools to deal with that," said Stenbakken.
Pension hawks and many experts say the changes won’t be enough to cover the future payments owed to public employees. Some studies have put that unfunded liability as high as a half-trillion dollars. CalPERS is estimating that the governor’s deal will save between $40 billion and $60 billion over 30 years.
