What happened to PERS reform?

7/10/2011: From Dennis Thompson in the Statesman Journal: (My interpretations, not his.)

A) Unions squashed it:

“The reality is there will be no significant PERS reform as long as public-employee unions have such extreme power in the Oregon Capitol,” said Rep. Dennis Richardson, R-Central Point, one of the strongest voices for PERS reform in the Legislature. “It’s just a fact of life.”

B) Rising corporate profits raised stock prices and solved the problem:

The $58.3 billion state investment fund that supports PERS lost 27 percent of its value during the 2008 market downturn, but grew 19 percent the following year and has since recovered steadily along with the national economy. The system currently is 88 percent funded — meaning there is 88 cents on hand to pay every dollar of benefits promised to every PERS member, both active and retired — and is considered in the top tier of public pension systems in the United States.

C) State judges are now in PERS, and they aren’t going to allow cuts:

“We did not see reform proposals that would hold up in a court of law,” said Rep. Tina Kotek, D-Portland. “I think it’s wiser to do what you can do than end up in litigation. That’s not the way to go.”

Meanwhile, haven’t heard anything about the SJ’s lawsuit to get info on how much the largest PERS recipients are getting.