ACSS members: If you're planning to attend ACSS' quarterly board meeting in Las Vegas April 16-18, you have until Wednesday, March 31, to make your discounted hotel reservation. All Bally's hotel at 800-634-3434 and give them this code: SBACS0 (that’s a zero). You must be authorized by your chapter to have your expenses reimbursed.

SEIU Local 1000, the plaintiffs in the successful lawsuit to exempt non-general fund state workers from the furlough, has posted a list of the agencies that will be affected by the ruling.

CalPERS recently held two one-day forums examining the state of California's public pensions and analyzing ideas for ensuring future retirement security. The discussions addressed how to provide members with adequate and secure retirement benefits that are also affordable for employers. These discussions are now availble online. You can view them at http://www.calpersresponds.com/issues.php/California-Retirement-Dialogue.

CalPERS members' long-term care premiums are increasing this month. CalPERS, sensitive to the economic hard times for state workers, is offering options that will allow the members who want to save money to customize their plan, including decreasing benefit levels and reducing the benefit period . If you have questions about the increase, or to discuss the options, call a special toll-free number 888-877-4934 during working hours.

President Arlene Espinoza writes about Lobby Day and ACSS' political future in her newest Report.

In this critical budget year, it's important to get your Lobby Day message out to your legislators effectively. ACSS' Talking Points help you organize your visit and prepare your information.

For ACSS members, it's not too early to make your reservations for ACSS' next quarterly board meeting in Las Vegas. Dates: April 16-18. Hotel: Bally's, 3645 Las Vegas Blvd. South (800-634-3434 or www.ballyslasvegas.com). Deadline to get the ACSS room discount is March 25. The board meeting begins with committee meetings, including the new time for the Presidents Forum, at 2 p.m. Friday, April 16. If you are authorized by your chapter (under "Contact" tab) to attend, ACSS will reimburse you for your room and travel expenses.

From The State Worker blog: If watching the Olympics has motivated you to get back to the slopes, some Tahoe area ski resorts are making that a lot easier to afford. Boreal's "Frickin' Friday" deal for furloughed state employees offers $15 lift tickets on, of course, furlough Fridays (regular price: $47). Squaw Valley's $83 tickets are discounted to $49 on specified dates.

ACSS members, the deadline to reserve your room at the Holiday Inn Capitol Plaza for Lobby Day is March 12. To make your reservation, call the hotel at 916-446-0100. Be sure to ask for the ACSS discount. Lobby Day, our prime opportunity to introduce ourselves and our issues to legislators, will be St. Patrick's Day, March 17. Training is the night before. Call ACSS at 916-326-4257 if you have questions. Watch our Web site Lobby Day page for information.

CalPERS has scheduled only five retirement planning fairs this year: March 30 in Los Angeles; April 2 and 3 in Sacramento, April 8 in Redding and April 14 in Fresno. The retirement fairs offer information on planning for your state retirement and Social Security as well as several workshops. For locations, times and other information, check the CalPERS Web site.

The Sacramento Bee today published three cogent letters to the editor responding to an editorial that supported the governor's proposed pay cuts. The writers are not supervisors but their messages offer excellent food for thought. Scroll to see: "Good government isn't free"; "5 percent boost isn't 'modest' "; and "Bring back personal leave days." A fourth letter on pensions, "Pension cost exaggerated," was written by CSEA Retirees President Roger Marxen. To write a letter to the editor of The Bee, click here. Not every letter is published, but it's still helpful to let the editorial board know your opinion.

As if state workers hadn’t been hit hard enough: If the state budget doesn’t pass by June 15, your salaries could legally be cut to minimum wage. There is only one way to protect your paychecks: Support AB 1699. This continuous appropriation bill, by Assemblyman Ed Hernandez, authorizes the state to pay its employees their full salaries until a new budget is signed. As an ACSS member, you must urge your legislators to support this bill! It’s very important to reach as many legislators as possible because the bill requires a two-thirds majority to pass. Since it’s an urgent measure, it would go into effect immediately.The simplest way to write your legislator is to use the “Contact Your Legislators” section of this Web site. If you’ve accessed this link before, your representatives’ names will display. If not, type in your address and they will appear. Click on the “contact” tab for each rep and use the email link to send your thoughts.

If you are a member of ACSS and you haven't completed our furlough survey yet, please click on one of the links here and take it as soon as you can. The ACSS board approved possibly pursuing legal action related to the furloughs, and our chief counsel needs this information to develop this action. If you have problems with the survey, please let us know. We have been getting great response, but we need as much information from as many members as possible.

We will now be posting brief minutes of chapter meetings on our Web site. They are being logged under the "Newsroom" tab under Chapter News. We hope the exchange of information will benefit all chapters. Thank you to the members who are providing the information!

At its January board meeting, the ACSS board of directors unanimously agreed to pursue possible legal action related to the furlough of its members. We've developed a survey to help our chief counsel gather information for this potential lawsuit. You may have received this survey in your email; if not, please click on the survey link and answer a few questions here. The survey is short and your answers will be kept confidential. Please note: As referred to in the survey, "self-directed" furlough means you could choose the days you took your furlough time off rather than having those days determined for you (such as the first three Fridays the governor has now ordered).