Legislature Ponders Ed funding

As we reach the back stretch of the legislature, the question of "how big will the cuts be?" permeates our thoughts. We are watching with chagrin the disaster in Jordan and with apprehension of what might happen in Ogden and Weber districts. We will know more after the legislature. The two retirement bills passed by large margins (SB43 53-20 and SB63 46-26). Brad Dee sponsored and spoke for both bills. The two bills now go back to the Senate to vote on the amendments. The bills are improved, but not what we wanted.

Rick

House Debates Retirement changes

As I write this entry, the House is debating and voting on the retirement changes. SB43 passed 53-20 and will return to the Senate because of the changes made in the House. Retirees will be able to return after one year of retirement to teach and receive their pension and salary, but no 401k. SB63 is being amended to raise the 401k contribution from 8% to 10% and the other option raised from 1% to 1.5% per service year and add the ability to retire at 60 years, even if you didn't have 35 years. You can listen to the debate by going to the legis

Rick

Two Retirement Bills Go to the House Floor

In the house committee the reemployment bill (SB43) was changed to allow a teacher to retire and after one year away from the system, be rehired and receive their pension and salary. The current 401k contribution of 14.6% that rehirees receive would be ended for the new rehirees.


No changes were made to SB 63 which changes the system for new hires (after July 1, 2011) to a choice between an 8% 401k contribution or a combination of a 3% 401k and a defined benefit of 1% per each service year (35 years before retiring).

We currently receive a 14.6% contribution to a defined benefit now and a 1.5% 401k contribution.

These two bills now go to the house floor for debate.

It was good to see some changes being made, but we need to put pressure on our representatives to oppose the huge revamping of our retirement system.

Rick

Jordan Teachers Protest at School Board Meeting

According to Amy Stewart in the Deseret News (http://www.deseretnews.com/) about "500 people showed up for a Jordan School Board Meeting Tuesday night to let their opinions be heard regarding planned budget cuts that include laying off 500 employees." Jordan Education Association is also planning to have teachers outside school buildings with informational signs during parent-teacher conferences. The district is looking at a 30 Million dollar cut due to state cuts and the district split.

Our districts will also be looking at cuts, but we have not heard what they might be.
We will know more by the end of the session.

Two of the retirement bills are on the agenda for the House Retirement Committee today.

Rick

Legislative Update

The legislature (in an effort to subvert the initiative process)has given preliminary approval to some ethics bills. The bills are much weaker than the initiative. A Dan Jones poll said that Utah voters would support (by 80%) tax increases on tobacco and alcohol. The attempt by Rep. Brad King to raise income taxes on the rich failed (sent back to Rules) and the bill to expand sex education to include contraceptives also failed in committee. We did not see the three retirement bills on the reading calendar in the House. They should appear soon. Contact your representative.

Rick

Retirement Bills go to the House

Now our fight for retirement will be in the House of Representatives. Hopefully we can slow down the bills and see more time to study the problem. Please contact your represenatives by going to www.utea.org and clicking on the Under the Dome logo.

Thanks Rick

Pension Changes Pass First Hurdle in Senate

Sen. Jon Greiner spoke most strongly against the retirement bills on the Senate floor yesterday. Sadly, all three won preliminary approval (they will be brought to a third reading before sending them to the House). Our best chance to defeat them is in the House, even though our Weber legislator Rep. Brad Dee says he will sponsor them. Now is the the time to contact your member of the House and ask them to slow down the process and ask for a task force to study the "shortfall". Go to the www.utea.org website and click on "Under the Dome" to find your legislator and learn how to contact them.

Rick