Senate positions to block ambitious California retirement savings effort

The L.A. Times reports:

The Senate is positioning to scuttle an ambitious California effort to create retirement security for low-income workers, with a vote Wednesday morning that aims to block the state and others from launching programs to automatically enroll millions of people in IRA-type savings plans.

Wednesday’s roll call brings to a head an early confrontation between the state and the Trump-era Congress. The retirement law is a signature achievement of California Senate Leader Kevin De Leon, who worked on it for years and has helped lead a national effort to move similar laws forward in other states – all of which are threatened by the congressional action.

The House passed the measure to block the program in March at the urging of De Leon’s fellow Californian and longtime political rival, Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, the House majority leader.

The vote comes amid an intense lobbying campaign by the 38-million-member AARP and other advocacy organizations urging senators to keep the innovative program in place. The AARP has been running radio ads this week calling on senators to protect the program, and it has put lawmakers on notice that the organizations members will be informed about how they vote.

Can you imagine California bureaucrats running a financial program exempt from federal securities laws ?