Monday, March 2, 2009

Senate Bill 195

Senate Bill 195, Public Employee Defined Contribution Amendments, sponsored by Senator Dan Liljenquist, will be heard in the Senate Retirement and Independent Entities Committee meeting on Tuesday, March 3, 2009, at 7:00 a.m. This bill will suspend the 1.5% employer defined contribution made on behalf of employees who participate in the URS Noncontributory Retirement System. The bill will exempt certain employees who elected to move from the contributory retirement system to the noncontributory retirement system.

This bill is moving very quickly. Please contact your Senator or one of the Senators on the committee and encourage them to preserve your retirement benefit. The House Republican caucus discussed several revenue enhancements at their meeting last week including:
  • Repeal the state sales tax cut on food. This would increase state revenue by $150-180 million.
  • Increase vehicle registration fees by $20 per vehicle. This would increase state revenue by $50 million.
  • Increase the tobacco tax. This would increase state revenue by $45 million.
  • Bond for capital projects (buildings). It was indicated there was leadership support in both the House and the Senate to bond for no more than $115 million.
  • Use some of the $420 million in Rainy Day Funds.
  • Use the federal stimulus money. The state will receive more than $1.7 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. There was discussion and questions about when the state would receive this money.

SB195 will most likely make it out of committee on Tuesday and very likely the Senate. UPEA will provide updates on the votes and progress of this bill.

The Senators on the Retirement and Independent Entities Committee are:

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