Senate and Assembly Republicans Wednesday, including Sen. Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar), called on Democrats in the state Legislature to work across the aisle to implement Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed pension reforms.

Several state lawmakers appeared at a press conference in Sacramento to tout legislation that mirrors Brown’s 12-point plan. A bi-partisan legislative committee has been studying the proposed reforms, but Republican lawmakers said that union pressure has thwarted progress, reported the Los Angeles Times.

“Republicans believe that the Governor should have an up-or-down vote on his pension reform plan,” said Huff, the Senate Republican Leader, in a statement.

“While we have heard Democrats give lip service about supporting his plan, none of their Members have committed to supporting it, or even carrying it.  That’s why today Republicans are introducing the Governor’s pension reforms as legislation.  We have not changed one comma, one period or one word.  This is his plan as he wrote it, and we will stand with him to see it passed.”

Huff has authored Senate Constitutional Amendment 18 and Senate Bill 1176, which complement similar measures proposed on the Assembly side.

The governor’s plan calls for public employees to contribute more to their pension, raises the retirement age, and reduces benefits for new hires, among other changes.

“It’s time to fix our pension systems so that they are fair and sustainable over a long time horizon,” Brown said in October. “My plan raises the retirement age and bans abusive practices like ‘spiking’ and ‘air time’ while mandating that public employees pay an equal share of pension costs.”

Lawmakers long have been sparring over pension reform issue.  At a Senate Budget Committee in April at Cal Poly Pomona, Huff quoted a study called the Stanford Report that lists the state’s pension program as $500 billion over budget.   Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) said that the study Huff named has been roundly discounted as inaccurate.