In and Out in Five Days, They Say: No Bickering Expected for Special Session

By Ryan Alessi, The Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.

Jun. 23–Two months after wrapping up legislative business with a spectacular midnight collapse of several high-profile bills, lawmakers return to Frankfort on Monday to take another crack at retooling the state pension system.

This time, however, legislative leaders and Gov. Steve Beshear insist they have an agreement and can be in and out of this special legislative session in the minimum five days.

“We do believe collectively that this bill is worth having a five-day special session over because of the impact it will have overall,” Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, said earlier this month when he and House leaders announced they had reached a compromise deal on the pension bill.

The state retirement systems, which have been chronically underfunded, face a $26 billion shortfall.

One of the key tenets of the proposed legislation would be to set a timetable for the General Assembly to build up the amount of state money paid into the systems until it reaches its full obligated annual payment by 2025.

It also would require future state workers to pay 1 percent of their salaries for retiree health care costs and raises the minimum age and service time before those yet-to-be-hired workers could retire.

That new level of service and age — a combined 87 years for workers in non-hazardous jobs and at least 65 with five years of work — would go into effect for anyone hired after Sept. 1, 2008, if the legislation is approved.

State workers in hazardous jobs, such as state police, must have 15 years of service to be eligible for insurance when they retire.

The changes in benefits for future employees is meant to ease the burden on the systems. Those suggested changes were debated in the regular session this spring but a last-minute deal fell apart minutes before the midnight deadline on April 15.

If the deal cruises through the special session as expected, more changes are possible next year.

“We recognize this is the beginning of what we want to do,” Williams said.

Beshear created a task force to study other, more controversial ideas, such as offering defined contribution set-ups like 401(k) plans, and whether to move classified school employees — janitors and cafeteria workers — from the county retirement system.

And just because the governor limited this week’s special legislative session exclusively to the state retirement system bill doesn’t mean lawmakers can’t go off on tangents.

For instance, Monday’s official legislative schedule includes an afternoon meeting of the Senate transportation committee, which could offer some fireworks.

Williams has been at odds with Beshear over several transportation issues, including the governor’s April veto of road projects and the cabinet’s budget. So that transportation panel meeting could allow senators to put administration officials on the hot seat.

And in the House, members of the Democratic majority can expect to be lobbied by their colleagues who have gotten an early start in seeking leadership posts for the 2009-2010 General Assemblies. Elections for those positions won’t take place until January.

Democratic Reps. Tommy Thompson of Owensboro, John Will Stacy of West Liberty and Ruth Ann Palumbo of Lexington have announced their interest in the Democratic whip position that rounds up votes for certain bills. It is being vacated by retiring Rep. Rob Wilkey, D-Scottsville.

Rep. Bob Damron, D-Nicholasville, has said he plans to challenge Democratic Caucus Chairman Charlie Hoffman of Georgetown for that post, which Damron lost to Hoffman in 2007.

And in the marquee race, Rep. Joni Jenkins, D-Shively, has said she wants to run for speaker pro tem — the person who takes over managing the House floor when the speaker, currently Jody Richards of Bowling Green, is away.

Rep. Larry Clark, D-Louisville has served in that position since 1994.

Jenkins said she expects to chat up her colleagues but doesn’t think the leadership races will endanger the session.

“I’m sure all the candidates will be talking to as many members as possible, especially because it will be a lighter session,” she said. “There’s not going to be a lot of different bills to deal with.”

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Copyright (c) 2008, The Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.

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