Hearings Scheduled on Pension Reform Plan

NJSBA will testify in support of the pension reform plan in hearings to be held on Thursday, Feb. 18 by the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation Committee.

“Reform proposals like these are long overdue,” said Marie S. Bilik, NJSBA executive director. “Taken together, many of the concepts in the legislative package would provide long-term stability for the retirement system and relieve taxpayers.”

The four bills that will be considered at the hearing will include S-2, which limits enrollment in the pension system to employees who work at least 35 hours per week at the state level, or 32 hours per week in local government and public schools. The bill also changes the equation used to calculate pension benefits for future employees by dividing the number of years worked by 60, rather than the current 55. In addition, pensions for workers in the public employee and teacher pensions systems would be calculated using five years of salary, rather than three years.

S-3 would require all employees, including current school district employees, to pay at least 1.5 percent of their salary toward their health benefits after the expiration of their current contract, and require new employees to pay at least 1.5 percent of their base pension toward post-retirement health benefits.

S-4, a measure to limit sick leave payouts for all new local and school employees to $15,000, will also be considered by the committee.

Finally, a proposed constitutional amendment, SCR-1, would require the state to annually meet its obligation for each pension plan it operates. If approved by the Legislature, the amendment would go to the voters in November’s general election.

Each of the reforms has at least 23 Senate sponsors – more than the threshold of votes necessary to pass them.

Other Legislation The Assembly Education Committee will also meet on Thursday, and the following bills will be considered:

A-355 (Jasey/Voss): Establishes a permanent Interdistrict Public School Choice Program. NJSBA supports this proposal which is completely voluntary. It makes the interdistrict public school choice program permanent. A five-year interdistrict public school choice program was established in 2000 and expired on June 30, 2005.

A-415 (Rumana/Cryan): Provides an additional month for the completion of a school district’s annual audit. NJSBA supports this measure

A-1894(Cryan/Casagrande/Angelini):  Requires certain conditions be met in order for school districts to provide their employees with tuition assistance for coursework or additional compensation upon acquisition of academic credits or completion of a degree program. NJSBA supports this measure, which provides safeguards to guarantee the credits are appropriately earned at an accredited institution.

A-2260 (Diegnan): Lengthens service life of certain school buses to 15 years. NJSBA supports this measure to the extent that the buses in question meet the state required safety inspections.

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