PENSION REFORMS ATTACKED.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO - Widows of firefighters and police officers who died in the line of duty joined public employee unions Wednesday in attacking Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to reform the state pension system.

They said his proposal would deny death and disability benefits to survivors such as themselves.

``For firefighters and their families, death and disability benefits are not frills,'' said Heather McCormack, whose husband, San Jose fire Capt. Mark McCormack, died fighting a fire last month.

``They are not extras. They are not perks. These benefits are the modest safety net that catches us when this dangerous job catches up with our loved ones.''

The governor's proposed constitutional amendment, authored by Assemblyman Keith Richman, R-Granada Hills, would replace the state's traditional pension system with a 401(k)-style system. It would apply only to new employees of state and local governments. Current workers and retirees would continue to be part of the traditional plan unless they opted to switch.

Opponents of the proposal, primarily public employee unions, argued that the amendment eliminates the benefits to survivors of employees who die or are injured on duty. They cited the Attorney General's Office analysis of the plan, which indicates it would prohibit such benefits.

Richman, however, said the analysis was wrong, and in any case he would be open to discussing ways to ensure that the benefits are preserved under the new system, which he said would be relatively low cost compared to the costs of the entire pension system.

``There is nothing in the measure that at all talks about death and disability benefits,'' Richman said. ``If it's necessary to clarify that death and disability benefits are not precluded, we'd be happy to do that.''

Among those testifying against the measure were officials representing the boards of the California Public Employees Retirement System, the California Teachers Retirement System and the University of California regents as well as unions representing teachers, engineers, scientists, firefighters, police officers and other state employees.

They also argued that the current pension system has worked well over the long term, and that it shouldn't be scrapped based on a few bad years in the stock market.

The current system has gone from costing the state general fund about $160 million in 2001 to $2.6 billion this year.

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has also proposed a ballot measure that is similar to the Richman measure. The governor has yet to decide whether to endorse the initiative, but is generally expected to if the Legislature fails to act.

The three-hour hearing before the Assembly Public Sector Committee was the first of what is expected to be multiple hearings on the subject.

Harrison Sheppard, [phone]

harrison.sheppard(at)dailynews.com

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Heather McCormack, widow of Santa Clara County fire Capt. Mark McCormack, urges lawmakers to reject a pension plan overhaul backed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press