EDITORIAL: The lesson for Nevada in Newsom’s pension veto

It’s often said that an ounce of prevention is worthy a lb of cure. When it comes to nationalist pensions, 1 veto tin prevention billions of dollars.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently vetoed a program to grow pension benefits. The measure would person lowered the status property for constabulary and firefighters from 57 to 55. It besides would person made the look utilized to cipher pensions much generous for immoderate workers. The measure would person reversed cost-saving moves lawmakers made successful the 2012 Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act.

Then-Gov. Jerry Brown called that 2012 bipartisan measure “the biggest rollback to nationalist pension benefits successful the past of California pensions.” He said it would trim “costs by up to $55 cardinal successful PERS and billions much successful different section pension systems.”

At the time, California’s pension systems faced steep deficits, called unfunded liabilities. In fiscal 2013, California Public Employees’ Retirement System had a $62 cardinal backing shortfall. The California State Teachers’ Retirement System’s unfunded liability was $74 billion. Pension costs were 1 of the factors forcing Stockton to record for bankruptcy successful 2012.

In a December 2025 report, the Reason Foundation put California’s combined authorities and section pension indebtedness astatine much than $265 billion.

One mightiness deliberation these realities would pb California politicians to propulsion caller pension reforms, not expanded benefits. But California’s almighty nationalist information unions vociferously reason specified reform. The Reason Foundation estimated the caller measure could person outgo the nationalist much than $11 cardinal implicit 30 years. It adjacent recovered astir of the benefits would spell to “those who gain much than $160,000 annually.” But the measure passed some houses of the California Legislature with lone 2 Assembly members successful opposition.

This is the occupation with defined-benefit pension programs. The politicians who voted for this measure person contiguous governmental benefits. But they are improbable to beryllium successful bureau erstwhile the trade-offs — aboriginal taxation hikes oregon fund reductions — travel due. This is 1 crushed that Nevada and different states should determination distant from this benignant of pension strategy and toward defined-contribution programs. It is excessively susceptible to governmental unit to summation benefits.

Fortunately for the taxpayers who money these systems, Gov. Newsom exhibited a uncommon spot of communal consciousness and vetoed the bill.

“I inactive callback — earlier PEPRA’s transition successful 2012 — the alarming forecasts, the fierce disapproval of nationalist employees and the increasing unit to destruct defined-benefit plans each together,” helium wrote successful his veto message. “This is an epoch of California past I bash not privation to repeat.”

No 1 should, which is wherefore Nevada lawmakers should instrumentality steps to determination authorities employees distant from the existent defined-benefit pension system.