California bills would increase taxpayers’ costs and public pension debt

California bills would increase taxpayers’ costs and public pension debt

Recent stock market volatility and shaky economic conditions should remind policymakers that there are many scenarios where California’s public pension debt could grow significantly in the years ahead. California’s state-run pension plans already had $285 billion in unfunded liabilities at the end of 2023, according to Reason Foundation research, so it’s incredibly worrying to see lawmakers considering undoing pension reforms that save tens of b…

Public Notice Law Needs Modernization, But Newspaper Bill Would Hurt Taxpayers

By Dan Myers and Geoff Rushton In an age before the internet, it made sense that agencies and other parties were required to post public notice of meetings and significant actions in the local print newspaper. This worked for many decades while competition in the print newspaper market remained strong, but today, with a greatly diminished printed press, public notices are best known by municipal leaders, lawyers, and residents for price gouging …