As reported last, the coup that was staged by Senate Republicans (with the help of three Democrats) means that lawmakers did not finish their business on time and a Special Session was called by Governor Gregoire.  To recap, the Senate passed SB 6378 which does the following harm to our pension system:

1)    Closes Plan 2 and forces all new hires into Plan 3.  This raises the rates for Plan 2 members and puts the entire system at risk.

2)    Eliminates the early retirement options for new hires.  This ignores the trade offs that were given to create Plan 3 and cheats all members out of the benefits they were promised.

3)    Allows the State to skip a $394 million dollar payment it owes to Plan 1 which puts the entire system for deficits later.

Thankfully, the House Democrats held their ground and over 39 signed onto a letter that asks leadership to deny the bill at hearing. 

Please contact the following House members and ask them to reject HB 6378 in its entirety:

Legislative Hotline – 1-800-562-6000

 Only time will tell when a deal will be reached so your calls and e-mails are needed immediately.