Yee haw, it’s a pensions policy roundup: Cutoff edition

Here we review a few of the pensions related bills that have or have not (so far) made it past the House of Origin cutoff deadline on Wednesday, March 8, which is the deadline for bills to be voted out of their respective chambers of origin and sent to the other chamber.

Bills that have passed their house of origin

Ad hoc PERS 1 COLA: HB 1057/SB 5350 authorize a one-time, ad hoc 3% cost-of-living-adjustment for PERS 1 retirees, capped at $110 per month. The bills direct the Select Committee on Pension Policy to study and recommend a permanent plan 1 COLA. HB 1057 was amended to delay the impact of the COLA on contribution rates until 2027 and specify that supplemental contribution rates won’t be charged to pay for the COLA. Both bills passed out of their respective chambers with unanimous votes.

UAAL sunset: SB 5294 establishes a June 30, 2025 end date for the PERS 1 unfunded actuarial accrued liability surcharge (UAAL). After that it sets a UAAL employer contribution rate of 0% until 2029 to supersede other statutory references to the UAAL. The UAAL is an employer-paid surcharge added to Plan 2/3 contribution rates to pay for unfunded costs to PERS 1 that have accumulated over the years. The bill passed out the Senate unanimously on February 27. House companion, HB 1201, is waiting for a vote in the House. AWC supports these bills.

Interruptive military service: HB 1007/SB 5296 expand the definition of “veteran” to include those receiving an expeditionary badge for participation in an armed conflict, for the purposes of civil service laws and military service credit in public sector pensions. HB 1007 has an amendment making the change retroactive. Interruptive military service is where an employee is called away from work for military service, and a service credit gives “veterans’” pensions credit for their time away in military service. Both bills passed out of their respective chambers with unanimous votes.

Retire/Rehire: HB 1056 permits PERS 2 & 3 retirees that retired under the 2008 early retirement factors to return to public employment as an employee or contractor for up to 867 hours per year without losing retirement benefits. It was voted out of the House on February 6 with a unanimous vote. Senate companion SB 5349 is waiting for a vote in the Senate.  AWC is supportive of this proposal.

Flexible work for police: SB 5424 allows part-time officers to participate in LEOFF 2 and exercise full mutual aid police powers. It also allows law enforcement agencies to adopt flexible work policies for police. The bill passed out of the Senate on March 2 on a unanimous vote.

Pending bills

911 operators to PSERS: HB 1055/SB 5328 expands eligibility for PSERS membership and gives current public safety telecommunicators (like 911 operators) the option to remain in PERS or join PSERS 2 as a dual member of PERS and PSERS. New public safety telecommunicators will automatically be enrolled in PSERS.

Dead bills (due to earlier cutoffs)*

*Many bills regarding pensions impact state spending or revenue and could be considered “necessary to implement the budget” (NITB), and thus be exempt from cutoffs.

Permanent PERS 1 COLA: HB 1459 would have established an automatic annual COLA for PERS 1 retirees capped at 3% and $110 per month starting in July 2023, and would have relied on extraordinary investment returns to pay for it. The bill had a public hearing, but we never voted out of the House Appropriations Committee.