The push to include a government pension measure in California on the November ballot ended after San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and his supporters decided to back down on Friday.
The move came after a Superior Court judge ruled against Reed's petition to change the title and description of the proposed ballot initiative, "The Pension Reform Act of 2014," for purposes of signature collection.
Reed and other state officials sued Attorney General Kamala Harris last month, argued that her wording of the initiative, which would allow local governments to change future pension benefits for current workers, was biased.
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The sentence in dispute stated that the measure "Eliminates constitutional protections for vested pension and retiree healthcare benefits for current public employees, including teachers, nurses, and peace officers, for future work performed." Reed and his allies said in their lawsuit that description was "false and misleading" in a way that "creates prejudice" against the measure.
Sacramento Superior Court Judge Allen Sumner, disagreed, saying he found "nothing false or misleading" about how Harris described Reed's measure.
The National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS), the country's largest association representing public pension systems, applauded the ruling.
"Reed and his supporters had hoped to get an initiative on the ballot to eliminate the constitutional protections—known collectively as the 'California Rule'—that prevent elected leaders from raiding public pension funds and using the money for other purposes. But when Harris used their own language to summarize the ballot initiative—and voters reacted negatively—Reed and company cried foul, and wanted the language change," NCPERS Executive Director and Counsel Hank Kim said in a statement.
"Sacrament County Superior Court judges were right to deny their petition. NCPERS believes that Reed and company have the right to propose changes to the station constitution and, if they can collect the necessary 800.000 signatures, put the proposal on the ballot. But they have no right to deceive voters by shielding them from the truth about what they're trying to accomplish."
Reed, however, said he and his allies "remain committed" to rolling back what they believe are unaffordable pensions and will be targeting the 2016 election cycle for their proposed reform initiative.
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