< 25 Top Pension Power Players
7. Tani Cantil-Sakauye
California Chief Justice
The fate of California’s defined benefit pensions — and potentially those in every state — now lies in the hands of California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, 57, and her six fellow judges. If California’s top court rules that promised pension benefits can be taken away, that may open the door to drastic pension overhauls, removing an obstacle that has long frustrated would-be reformers around the country. For public employee retirees in Marin County, it could be “good-bye, pension spiking; hello, benefit adjustments.” The story so far: In 1955 the Supreme Court of California ruled that under the state’s commerce clause, benefits that had been promised to workers could not be taken away — though reasonable modifications were allowed if they included some comparable new advantages. This decision, known as the California rule, has been used by courts throughout the U.S. and its territories to stave off pension reform. Last year, though, a San Francisco court unanimously upheld a Marin County pension reform effort. The decision was challenged, and Cantil-Sakauye’s court has agreed to hear the case. — Imogen Rose-Smith
The 2017 Pension Political Power 25
1. Andy Puzder 2. Bruce Rauner 3. Betsy DeVos 4. Laura & John Arnold 5. Steven Mnuchin |
6. Wilbur Ross 7. Tani Cantil-Sakauye 8. Paul Ryan 9. Anthony Scaramucci 10. Kevin de León |
11. Mike Enzi 12. Steve Sweeney 13. Jerry Brown 14. Corey Lewandowski 15. Paul Singer |
16. Randel Johnson 17. Joe Manchin 18. Kenneth Feinberg 19. Scott Walker 20. Richard Trumka |
21. Mike Rawlings 22. Elizabeth Warren 23. Kent Mason 24. Bernie Sanders 25. Randi Weingarten |
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