457 is the solution you want. I also have a state job (California), and when your employer is the state a 457 plan is the bee's knees. It's almost exactly like a 401k, except that you can withdraw from it without penalty AT ANY AGE - after you separate from state service. So you can't take money out without penalty while you continue to work for the state, but if you do an early retirement (at any age), like say age 35 or 40, the money is totally available to you as if you were 59.5 years of age and it were a 401k.
The only drawback to 457 plans that I am aware of, is that because they are "deferred compensation" plans and not true retirement plans, the funds in your account belong to your employer, not to you -- what this means is that if your employer were to go bankrupt, the money in your 457 would go to the creditors of your employer before it comes to you. That's bad. HOWEVER -- if your employer is a state government, it's extremely unlikely they will ever go bankrupt! Most 457 plans belong to city governments, which can and DO go bankrupt, or to not-for-profits, same thing they do go bankrupt. When has a state in the United States declared bankruptcy? Never- SO FAR. :)