Nelson v. City of Los Angeles

Opinion

THOMPSON, J.

This is a petition for writ of mandate originally filed in the Supreme Court and transferred to this court. The petition seeks a writ directing respondent city to comply with the provisions of section 184.95 and 190.142 enacted as amendments to article XVII of the Charter of the City of Los Angeles by vote of the public on May 25, 1971, and approved by the state Legislature on June 28, 1971. Having determined that the matter involves a pure question of law of great public interest, we issued our alternative writ.

(San Francisco Unified School Dist.

v.

Johnson,

3 Cal.3d 937, 945 [92 Cal.Rptr. 309, 479 P.2d 669].) Respondent city filed a demurrer and return. We conclude that a peremptory writ of mandate must issue directing respondent city to comply with the provisions of the charter amendments.

There is no dispute of fact. Petitioners are, respectively, a member of the police department of respondent city retired in 1947 and the widow of a member of the police department who died while so employed in 1948. Both were receiving pensions from the city in 1971. On May 25, 1971, the qualified electors of respondent city adopted amendments to article XVII of its charter adding sections 184.95 and 190.142. The amendments raised the minimum pension payable to persons in the class of petitioners from $250 to $350 per month and increased annual cost of living increments in pensions from 2 percent to 3 percent. The state

[918]

Legislature approved the amendments on June 28, effective as of July 1, 1971.

Respondent city has refused to apply the provisions of the 1971 amendments to persons, including petitioners, who were already in a pensionable status on July 1, 1971. It contends that the amendments are void to the extent that they apply to persons in a pensionable status prior to that date because they are in conflict with article XI, section 10 of the California Constitution. That section, adopted June 2, 1970, provides: “A local government body may not grant extra compensation or extra allowance to a public officer, public employee, or contractor after service has been rendered or a contract has been entered into and performed in whole or in part. . . .”