In 2013, Oregon had reformed its public pension system, including by repealing certain cost-of-living adjustments. Yesterday the state Supreme Court ruled that that was unconstitutional. The Oregonian has a delightfully scathing editorial:

Unfortunately, the majority party has spent much of the current legislative session on a counterproductive, far-left policy bender. . . .

Thursday’s court decision demands a fundamental reassessment by legislative leaders of their priorities.

I didn’t follow this case, so I have nothing to say on its merits, but it is a reminder of how close Washington was to having to deal with a similar situation. Had our Supreme Court not ruled in August that the repeals of gain sharing and the uniform cost-of-living adjustment were allowed, the Legislature would be trying to find an extra $766 million for this biennium. So we got that going for us, which is nice.