Report #3 3/19/98

Session Ends

P.E.R.S. III threat over but S.E.R.S. III sent to Governor

 

VETO needed on SB 6306

The 1998 Legislative session ended on time March 12th. The end of the session marked the death of P.E.R.S. III for this year, but we will no doubt be faced with it again next session. The Legislators promoting the plan show no sign of giving up on the idea.

School Employees Retirement S.E.R.S. III (SB 6306)

Despite intensive lobbying from the AFL-CIO Unions and several problems presented by the State Investment Board and Department of Retirement Systems, SB 6306 passed both Houses and was delivered to Governor Locke on March 12th. The Governor has 20 days to sign the bill into law. It is our hope that he will veto it.

The Short Story

P.E.R.S. III and S.E.R.S. III were heard in the Senate Ways and Means Committee. The Committee passed out S.E.R.S. III but couldn’t get enough votes on P.E.R.S. III due to the fact that the Democrats "locked up" against it and a few Republicans agreed with them. Meanwhile the House sent their version of S.E.R.S. III to the floor but decided to pull it and then wait to see what the Senate did.

"Teachers know best"

The Washington Education Association (W.E.A.) bought into this plan 3 years ago and are now dragging the rest of us down with them. They convinced the Public School Employees (P.S.E.) to throw in with them and are attempting to use our opposition to the bill to gain improvements to the lousy plan they already agreed to!

"Liquidity" Bomb Goes Off!

The Legislators promoting S.E.R.S. III were keeping a dirty little secret. Hidden deep in the fiscal note was the fact that S.E.R.S. III will cost all the remaining plans millions of dollars. The reason is actually fairly simple. Since S.E.R.S. III was sold based on the fact that you could move your investment money around on a daily basis, the State Investment Board would have to keep nearly $200 million in what amounts to a checking account. Currently that’s our money and it’s in long-term high interest investment. The Department of Retirement would also have to hire 35 people and spend 17 million to administer the bureaucracy S.E.R.S. III creates.

Cart before the horse

Their response to these problems was to move the implementation date to September 1, 2000 and study these issues in the meantime. That’s right, they passed a bill without knowing how much it’s going to cost!

The Governor needs to hear from you

Please call 1-800-562-6000 or (360) 902-4111 and ask Governor Locke to VETO SB 6306.

 

Next Year’s Battle

(and we’ve already started)

This editorial appeared in the Olympian (City of Olympia Daily Newspaper). It is the result of our lobbying to expose the Joint Committee on Pension Policy for what it is, a political machine designed to benefit the State, not the members of the retirement system. We have already begun to meet with Legislators to explain the need for a major change in pension governance. Look to our newspaper for more details.

(Editorial will soon be posted)

Back to the top of the page