Bill Would Stop Pension Abuse By National Guard

SACRAMENTO (AP) — Responding to problems in the California National Guard, the state Senate has approved a bill designed to block state employees from using travel expense payments or housing allowances to boost their pensions.

Sen. Lou Correa says the Veterans Affairs Committee, which he chairs, found several questionable practices within the California Military Department.

His office says department employees who worked in Sacramento were claiming to live as far away as San Diego, Nevada and Texas. They then claimed their housing and travel reimbursements as income that should be counted in calculating their pensions.

Correa, a Democrat from Anaheim, said one person increased his annual pension by $10,000. His bill, SB807, would ban the practice.

It passed the Senate unanimously on Thursday and now goes to the Assembly.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press)