Brief

Councilmembers Tim McOsker and Traci Park introduced a motion to amend Section 1700 of the City Charter, proposing changes to the Port Warden II position's pension system restrictions and pay grade. The motion aims to place a measure on the November 2026 ballot for voter consideration. It remains pending in the Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee, which continued the item without a scheduled hearing date following its June 15 meeting.

Full summary

The Los Angeles Port Police Division has struggled to recruit senior leaders from outside law enforcement agencies because of a pension mismatch built into the City Charter. Under the current structure, the Port Police chief — classified as Port Warden II — can opt out of the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension plan (LAFPP) and enroll in the general Los Angeles City Employees Retirement System (LACERS) if hired from outside City service. But the assistant chief position, classified as the lower-grade Port Warden I, is automatically enrolled in LAFPP with no opt-out available. Because LAFPP requires 20 years of service to qualify for a pension, experienced candidates who have already served full careers elsewhere have little incentive to take the Port Warden I job — they cannot realistically accumulate another 20 years to earn a pension benefit. Councilmember Tim McOsker's motion proposes to fix this asymmetry by amending Section 1700 of the City Charter so that any Port Warden, regardless of pay grade, who is hired from outside City service can elect to participate in either LAFPP or LACERS. Making the change at the charter level requires voter approval, so the motion directs the City Attorney's Office, with assistance from the Chief Legislative Analyst, to prepare the necessary ballot documents for the November 2026 election. Proponents argue the change would broaden the candidate pool for a senior Port Police leadership role and could also reduce recruitment costs and long-term benefits expenditures. The motion was introduced on April 29, 2026, and immediately referred to the Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee. The committee has scheduled and continued the item multiple times without reaching a vote, most recently continuing it on June 15, 2026 to a date to be determined. Given the November 2026 ballot deadline, the window for the committee to act and the full Council to approve ballot language is narrowing.

Activity (7)

• 2026-06-15 Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee continued item to date to be determined.
• 2026-06-12 Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on June 15, 2026.
• 2026-06-12 Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee continued item to June 15, 2026 .
• 2026-06-11 Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on June 12, 2026.
• 2026-05-28 Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee continued item to date to be determined.
• 2026-05-27 Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on May 28, 2026.
• 2026-04-29 Motion referred to Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee.

Documents (4)

• 2026-06-15 Speaker Card(s) · speaker_card
• 2026-06-12 Speaker Card(s) · speaker_card
• 2026-05-28 Speaker Card(s) · speaker_card
• 2026-04-29 Motion · motion