What the lawsuits are all about

Decisions on pension matters should be made in the interests of those who will receive them and not in the interests of the state.

That issue is at the heart of three lawsuits being filed or supported by Council 2, says Pat Thompson, Council 2’s Legislation/Political Action Director.

The details of the lawsuits are given in a separate report.

Thompson says the essence of the lawsuits is whether the state's fiduciary obligations require that decisions be made in the interests of the beneficiaries of the system or whether they are made to benefit the interests of the state.

The proposed Pension Governance Bill ties in with the lawsuits, Thompson adds. It is a two-pronged approach to create a system that is responsive to the needs and interests of the members.

The legislation, Senate House Bill 1771, gives Council 2 a seat at the table where pension policy is created, Thompson explains. The Bill, primarily sponsored by Kathy Wolf (D-Olympia), seeks to establish a Pension Oversight Board that would give all the stakeholders a seat at the table and arm them with a vote.

“That's something new,” Thompson adds. “The present system allows only legislators to create policy.”

The board would have 16 members, seven of whom would be active or retired members representing employees, two would be representatives of local government, three would be state agency directors, and four would be legislators.

“The legislators still hold the purse strings, but the Pension Oversight Board would set pension policy,” Thompson says. “We want to create the same pension governance system that the cities of Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane as well as 47 other states have.

“We are one of only three states that don't have members who help create pension policy.”

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