Legislative Report #2, 2003

Despite the looming budget deficit of $2.4 billion, the legislature is moving at a faster pace than expected. This may be due to Governor Locke’s bare bones budget proposal. Over 2,000 bills have been introduced so far. Among those of particular interest are:

Pension Governance (HB 1204/SB 5099)

Our major effort to reform Washington State’s Pension System took a big leap forward when the Joint Committee on Pension Policy (JCPP) recommended these bills to the full legislature. The House version (HB 1204) was sponsored by Representative Bill Fromhold (D) Vancouver and the Senate version is sponsored by Senator Shirley Winsley (R) Fircrest.

The House Appropriations Committee heard HB 1204 on Tuesday, February 11th. The hearing went well as your union’s lobbyist, accompanied by several other employee organizations, testified to the importance of this bill. At the time of printing, SB 5099 was scheduled for hearing on Wednesday, February 26 in the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

Summary of Bill:
The JCPP is repealed and its duties are assumed by the Select Committee on Pension Policy. The Select Committee on Pension Policy is composed of four members of the Senate, four members of the House of Representatives, four members representing active employees, two members representing retired employees, four employer representatives, and the directors of the Department of Retirement Systems (DRS) and the Office of Financial Management.

The eight Select Committee members from the House of Representatives and the Senate are divided evenly between the majority and minority parties of each chamber, and at least three of the four from each chamber must be members of the House Appropriations and Senate Ways and Means Committees. The House members are appointed by the Speaker, and the Senate members are appointed by the President of the Senate.

The Select Committee members representing active members, retired members, and employers are appointed by the Governor to staggered three-year terms. No more than two members representing actives, and no more than one member representing retired members, may be from the same retirement system. The retiree appointments must be rotated among the retirement systems to ensure each system is periodically represented.

Like the JCPP, the Select Committee makes recommendations to the legislature on pension and pension funding policies, and it appoints or removes the State Actuary by a two-thirds vote.

The statute providing funding of the Office of the State Actuary (OSA) by reimbursement is amended to reflect the current method of funding by appropriation from the DRS expense fund.

Please contact your legislators and ask them to support HB 1204/SB 5099.

Early Retirement (HB 1499)

This bill follows previous “early out” bills that have been introduced in past years.

Bill Summary:
Under this bill, a PERS Plan 1 or Plan 2 member who meets certain eligibility criteria could retire earlier than normal. For every five years of actual service the member would
receive credit for one additional year of service, up to a maximum total of thirty years of credit. To be eligible, the member must:

1. Be employed on March 1, 2003;
2. File an application between June 15, 2003, and August 31, 2003, with an effective date of retirement on or before September 30, 2003.

Through June 30, 2004, state agencies would be prohibited from hiring retirees, who retired under this bill as temporary or project employees, unless the agency received approval from the Office of Financial Management. HB 1499 has been assigned to the House Appropriations Committee.

HB 1499 did not receive a recommendation from JCPP and has yet to be scheduled for a hearing. Due to the bill’s costs, we’re fighting an uphill battle. Interested members should call their legislators and ask them to support HB 1499.

Other retirement bills we support

Through June 30, 2004, state agencies would be prohibited from hiring retirees, who retired under this bill as temporary or project employees, unless the agency received approval from the Office of Financial Management. HB 1499 has been assigned to the House Appropriations Committee.

SB 5092/HB 1207 – Provides a $150,000 death benefit to survivors of all plan members who die as a result of injuries sustained in the course of employment. This bill has a good chance of passing this session.
HB 1546 – Service credit for military service during the Vietnam conflict. This bill provides up to five years of service credit for persons who served in the Vietnam War.
HB 1458 – This bill provides incentives to allow employers to offer early retirements only if they are facing major layoffs.
HB 1599 – This bill allows for an early retirement incentive for public safety related workers where working beyond 55 years old may put themselves, coworkers and/or the public at risk.

Support Washington State Library

The Governor’s budget proposes to cut funds to the State Library, which in turn cuts funds to several local libraries. These cuts result in staffing and service cuts at the local level. One such service under attack is the Washington Talking Book and Braille Library which is the only library to offer services to people throughout the State who are blind and disabled. The House restored the needed dollars but this issue is far from resolved. Please call your legislators and ask them to restore the State Library budget.

Cutting King County District court judges

Due to the creation of municipal courts in King County caseloads have dropped dramatically and the current allotment of 26 District Court Judges is at least 5 more than needed. Rather than reduce their numbers to the appropriate level, the Judges passed along the budget cuts to their staff of clerks and probation employees directly causing the layoffs of dozens of needed staff. This year they’re proposing cutting only 3 judges and only doing so through attrition.

Please call your legislators and tell them to amend HB 1805 to cut 5 (not 3) judges in King County. Every unneeded judge position cut will save the jobs of other staff that are desperately needed.

Cracking down on signature fraud (HB 1660 & SB 5293)

Paid signature gatherers have made a mockery out of Washington’s initiative process. The bounty hunters can get up to $3 for every signature they turn in. Our state is ill prepared to catch these forgers because there is no requirement for signature gatherers to sign for the signatures they turn in. These bills would require signature gatherers to vouch for the signatures they turn in.