April 16, 2010. Florida lawmakers head behind closed doors for Conference Committee meetings on 2010-11 budget, Elements of the 30 retirement bills introduced this year could reappear in other legislation.
We are heading into the final two weeks of the 2010 Session of the Florida Legislature, with a really big smile on our faces about the great victory FEA members celebrated during Week 6 with the veto of SB 6. But, we must continue to pressure Legislators to vote against any legislation that would reduce retirement benefits or increase out-of-pocket costs for retirement benefits. Significant threats to pensions are still being pushed, discussed, and negotiated behind closed doors.
Dangerous Ground: Conference Committee Meetings
At this point in the 2010 Legislative Session, legislative activity moves even further behind closed doors than usual. Conference Committee meetings, a process particularly crucial to finalizing the budget-appropriations process, are slated to begin very soon.
Right now, the FL Legislature is waiting to hear from the U.S. Congress about Medicaid funding assistance from the federal government for the FL Medicaid program. Until then, the FL Legislature isn’t going to do anything further on the budget. FEA is hearing that Congress may address Medicaid funding by today, Friday, April 16, 2010. Only when Congress completes its work on Medicaid funding and notifies the state of FL about the amount of federal funding FL will receive for its Medicaid program, will the FL Legislature begin Budget Conference Committee meetings.
FEA members must remain vigilant in opposing FRS changes
We are operating in a very fluid situation on the retirement bills proposed during the 2010 Legislative Session. Although the 30 retirement bills introduced in this 2010 Legislative Session has whittled down to just a couple of active ones, we must remain vigilant in our opposition to changes in FRS retirement benefits. The extraordinary response from FEA members voicing their opposition to any reduction in FRS retirement benefits has slowed or stalled all but two or three of these bills. However, the legislative process operates in a way that makes it possible for any part, or all, of a stalled bill to be amended onto some other piece of legislation. This is why we must continue to voice our opposition, despite the lack of specifics regarding which bill number may be moved to conference committee or amended onto other legislation. We must not allow FEA members to become discouraged or confused by Legislators who respond by saying these bills are dead, or that we have our facts wrong. There remain legislators who hope to slide through changes and reductions in retirement benefits by playing word games with those opposing these changes and by disguising these changes under cover of Conference Committee negotiations and/or non-retirement legislation that is still active.
The retirement bills that are hanging in limbo, and which would be available to Legislators for horse trading during Conference Committee negotiations are listed below.
HB 5701 by Rep. Rivera, R-112, Miami
HB 5701 is a bill eliminating the Health Insurance Subsidy (HIS) for FRS retirees that passed the House of Representatives. This bill will eliminate a benefit that FRS retirees receive; consisting of a $5 per month subsidy for each year of service they have been credited under the FRS benefit plan. The subsidy is capped at 30 years of total service, which equals up to $150 per month subsidy toward their monthly insurance coverage for retirees. For retirees receiving the maximum benefit, this amounts to loss of $1,800 per year – that’s an $1800 out-of pocket loss that the retiree will have to replace while trying to make ends meet on a fixed income! The bill remains a possible horse-trade issue during Conference Committee negotiations.
SB 2022 by Senator J.D. Alexander, R-17, Lake Wales
SB 2022 is a bill that establishes an employee contribution to the FRS retirement benefit plan for all classes of retirement participants, including the FRS investment plan participants, beginning July 1, 2010. SB 2022 passed a Senate floor vote on Wednesday, March 31, 2010, despite public testimony against the bill from FEA, AFSCME, the Police Benevolent Association, and the Firefighter. SB 2022 re-establishes an employee contribution – which has not existed since July 1, 1974. Although this bill does not propose any reductions to FRS retirement benefits, it does propose that beginning July 1, 2010, public employees participating in the FRS plan AND the optional/investment retirement plan begin making employee contributions to the respective plan Employees participating in FRS retirement will be hit with an out-of-pocket, payroll deduction of 0.25 % of their gross annual compensation. If passed into law, the employee contribution rates would be set by law each year in an annual rate bill the Legislature would pass. This bill is highly likely to be discussed by House and Senate Budget Conferees.
Contact your Senators and Representatives and urge them to vote “no” on HB 5701 and SB 2022. Urge your Legislators to tell their fellow Legislators who are Conference Committee members that they are opposed to HB 5701and SB 2022.
Senators: To find your Senators, go to www.flsenate.gov and look for “Find Your Legislators” at the bottom of the menu on the left side of the web site.
Representatives: To find your Representatives, go to www.myfloridahouse.gov and click on the heading that reads “Find Your Representative” right below the blue bar and the red bar at the top of .the page.