After being voted out of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, SHB 1204 was placed in the Rules Committee. (Details of the bill are in earlier reports - see list on left). The Rules Committee is the last stop before a bill can be voted on by the full Senate.

Under normal circumstances, a bill requires 2 “pulls” to pass out of the Rules Committee. A pull is when a Senator brings up the bill to the committee. The first pull does not require any discussion or vote, but the second pull does. Senator Don Benton (R-Vancouver) provided the first pull and Senator Harriet Spanel (D-Bellingham) gave us the second one. They should be thanked for their help by those of you in their district.

Once a bill is out of Rules, it is placed on the floor calendar and is eligible to be voted on. It is important to note that nothing requires bills to be acted on at any stage in this long process, so being on the calendar does not insure success.

SHB 1204 was placed on the floor calendar on April 10. Senator Don Carlson (R-Vancouver) spearheaded our efforts in the Senate and successfully lobbied his leadership to bring the bill up for a vote. His efforts paid off on the evening of April 14. At 8:30 P.M. Senator Carlson spoke in favor of the bill and the need to change the current system. His comments were supported by Senator Darlene Fairley (D-Shoreline). No one spoke in opposition, so the bill sailed through 45 to 3.

As of this writing the bill is now back in the House of Representatives awaiting reconsideration of an amendment that the Senate added.

With any luck, our 7-year effort to gain a voice and a vote in our pension system is nearing a successful completion.

Members should contact Governor Locke at 1-800-562-6000 and ask him to sign SHB 1204 if it reaches his desk.

HB 2180 has been amended to only include PERS I members, but is included in the House budget.

As reported earlier, HB 2180 would provide employees who retire between 9/1/03 and 2/29/04 an additional lump sum per month for a two-year period.

The original bill allowed for an additional $10 per month for every year of service, but the amended version provides for a flat $200 per month regardless of service. This will be part of the budget negotiations between the House and the Senate.

Since the Senate budget did not contain any funding for early retirement, members should call their Senators at 1-800-562-6000 and ask them to support HB 2180.

As of this writing, the House and Senate versions of the budget are out and the negotiations for an agreement are under way.

We are extremely disappointed that the House budget contained less backfill money and support for local government than the Senate budget did. This disparity is magnified when you consider that our taxes are raised in the House version. There are important positives however, including funding for a 2% COLA for classified school employees.

Please call your Representatives at 1-800-562-6000 and ask them to restore funding to local governments.

SSB 5659 passed the Senate and now awaits action by the House. This would allow counties to impose a new local sales tax of up to 0.3 percent. The increase is subject to voter approval in any county which offers it. The county would also be required to distribute 40 percent of the revenues received to cities within the county on a per capita basis. Voters would also be allowed to lift current levy lids for up to 6 years.

Please call your Representatives at 1-800-562-6000 and ask them to support ESSB 5659. Citizens should be given the authority to improve their own county or city.

The last day of the 105-day session is scheduled for Sunday, April 27.

Depending on who you talk to, there is likelihood that a special session will be called. Special sessions have become commonplace for the past several years and the deficit provides an increased chance of going into extra innings. Although these extra sessions are normally limited in scope, anything can happen.

May 31, 2003 marks the end of the window for employees looking to transfer to PERS III.

Although everyone’s circumstances are different, please be aware of the stock market risk of the new plan. Generally speaking, longer term employees are better off under the guarantees of Plan II. It should also be noted that the “transfer payment” is not new money. It is simply the present day value you would receive for giving up half of your future pension benefit.