Wilson OKs Law Spurred by County Pension Flap : Government: Bill requires public notice before changes in benefits are adopted.

In the wake of Los Angeles County’s controversial pension increases, Gov. Pete Wilson on Tuesday signed legislation requiring county governments to give public notice and conduct financial studies before adopting changes in retirement benefits for public officials.

The legislation was introduced after stories in The Times detailed how county bureaucrats--without a vote of the Board of Supervisors or a study of financial impact--adopted rules dramatically increasing pension benefits primarily for a small group of elected officials and top managers. The increases of up to 19% will bring some officials’ pensions to as much as $160,000 a year.

More than a year after implementing the new rules, an actuarial study found that the cost of the larger pensions is more than $265 million.

Assemblyman Dave Elder (D-Carson) who co-authored the bill with a half dozen other Los Angeles-area legislators, said the law “goes a long way toward stopping that kind of thing from happening. . . . The people won one this time.”

Wilson’s approval is the second public rebuke of the county by state officials over the pension issue this year.

In May, Wilson signed legislation aimed at eliminating one of the legal justifications used by the county for raising the pensions of top administrators by 19%. State officials said the county had misinterpreted an obscure state law when it included fringe benefits in pension calculations. “The new law will prevent abuse of county pension plans at the expense of taxpayers,” Wilson said in signing the earlier measure.

The pension rules also were criticized by the County Grand Jury, which concluded that the increases represent “the height of fiscal irresponsibility.” Two of the state’s largest taxpayer groups have filed a lawsuit demanding that the Board of Supervisors rescind the rules.

County officials have said that the pension changes cannot be legally reversed.

The legislation signed into law Tuesday requires the county boards of supervisors to give at least 72 hours notice of any changes in salary or benefit changes.

The measure also requires that an enrolled actuary prepare an estimate of the impact of salary and benefit changes on pension funds.

The law specifically allows the Los Angeles County retirement board to obtain outside legal counsel, rather than rely on the county counsel. Elder said the county counsel could have a conflict of interest. “The county counsel is opining on these issues (pension benefits) but is also benefiting from them,” Elder said.

The pension controversy has become a major election year issue.

Supervisor Deane Dana, in a hotly contested runoff with Rolling Hills Mayor Gordana Swanson, has been lambasted for allowing the bureaucracy to implement expensive programs such as the pension rule changes.

Dana, who initially supported the pension rules implemented by County Chief Administrative Officer Richard B. Dixon, later called for Dixon’s resignation. Dana could not be reached on Tuesday for comment on the governor’s action, but a spokesman said the supervisor supports the new law.

Gary South, campaign manager for Swanson said, the new law is good news.

But he added, “Keep in mind that this Board of Supervisors and its cadre of bureaucrats have made a science of keeping the public out of decisions. They get round it any way they can. It’s an attitude problem, not a legal problem.”