SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California's public employee pension plans face long-term shortfalls as high as $500 billion as costs skyrocket each day, a Stanford University-based economic think tank said Tuesday in a report that critics assailed as relying on faulty data to support the group's political agenda.

The Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research said the shortfall in the plans that cover 2.6 million California teachers, state workers and university employees is too large to be solved only by cutting future payouts.

Lawmakers were urged to consider cutting benefits and increasing contributions for current state employees — a move that is legally questionable.

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