After months of virtual silence on rolling back public pensions, Gov. Jerry Brown is about to resurrect the issue.

As the Capitol gears up for another round of budget talks, word is that Brown also plans to put forward a pension agenda for next year. He's been circumspect about the details, although recent history hints at his plans.

"I've got a whole bunch of pension ideas I've been working on, and I'll announce those relatively soon," Brown said this week in an interview with Bee reporter David Siders.

When Brown does get specific, any sweeping changes to pensions could put labor in a tough spot. Unions backed the Democratic governor's return to the office. He's their guy, but they can't get rolled, either.

Candidate Brown called for pension changes that many unions have since bargained, like lower benefits for new hires and hikes in employees' contributions.

Legislation in the pipeline has co-opted other Brown ideas, such as capping pensions for highly paid employees.

As a candidate and again as governor, Brown also suggested changes such as eliminating service credit purchases, ending "pension holidays" that let employers and employees skip pension payments when their funds are flush, and putting a stop to retroactive pension increases. Unions would probably gripe a little and then go along.

"But if he goes beyond what he said he wanted to do as a candidate, we'll be in a discomfort zone," said Dave Low, president of Californians for Retirement Security, a union coalition that represents 1.5 million public workers and retirees.

Brown nearly did just that, if you believe what Republicans said about budget talks earlier this year. According to GOP notes that Brown didn't refute, the governor entertained pension changes in exchange for Republican support for a tax initiative.

Several are anathema to labor, such as a proposal to end defined-benefit pensions in favor of a "hybrid" system that blends smaller guaranteed pensions with a 401(k)-type retirement account and Social Security.

Republicans wanted to make that mandatory. Brown wanted to make it an "option," according to the GOP notes of the talks.

The deal didn't happen. Republicans wanted public pension rollbacks, but they wanted to hold the line on taxes even more.

The buzz around town is that when Brown introduces his pension wish list that he'll asking for hearings before the full Legislature returns to work in January. "That way he's got the legislation ready to go," Low said.

It could also give Brown a stronger lever to pry loose a few GOP tax votes if the state's finances are again in crisis. Then the question: Would Republicans – or his own labor-friendly party – accept a pensions-for-taxes swap?

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Call The Bee's Jon Ortiz, (916) 321a1043a. Read his log, The State Worker, at sacbee.com/logs.

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