LEGISLATIVE UPDATE AS OF APRIL 28, 2005

by Mike Eader
Executive director of FASA

House Bill 563 by Rep. Joe Pickens, R-Palatka, has been heard in the House Governmental Operations Committee where it was temporarily postponed. The bill increases the rate at which retirement is accrued based on length of service. It increases incrementally so that, after 18 years, retirement is accrued at 2.1% per year of service. The Florida Constitution requires that any amendment to the Florida Retirement System (FRS) be predicated on an actuarial study detailing the impact of the amendment on FRS employers and members. Rep. Pickens used his bill to require the Division of Retirement to conduct a detailed analysis for consideration in a future legislative session. The Division has suggested that we may need to create an entirely separate class for personnel employed by district school boards. Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Seminole, has filed the Senate companion, Senate Bill 1266.

House Bill 781 by Rep. Bob Allen, R-Merritt Island, increases the health insurance subsidy by $1 per month for each year of service for the next two years. The Senate companion, SB 2266, is by Sen. Al Lawson, D-Tallahassee. The bills have been heard in two committees in the House and Senate and are sitting in the fiscal committee in each house, as are most bills, at this point. The bills have not encountered any controversy on either side. The chambers have just started their appropriations conference and are deciding how to spend the state budget. Since the bills also affect state employees, they will not move further until the Legislature decides to fund the state employer contribution portion of the bills. Stay tuned for calls to action on this issue.

House Bill 1097 by Rep. Ralph Arza, R-Hialeah, and Senate Bill 788 by Sen. Charlie Clary, R-Destin, have been subject to the same actuarial requirements as the other two bills. The bills allow school districts to extend DROP by three years for all administrators. It also allows them to re-employ administrators 30 days after retirement without penalty. The results of the actuarial study were not released until Wednesday. Based on the study, we can retain the three-year DROP, but retaining the re-employment provision will likely kill the bill. Senate Bill 788 is on the Senate Education agenda for Tuesday, April 26th.

There are two weeks remaining in this Legislative Session. Please monitor your email for updates and calls to action. All issues will require a quick turnaround now that the pace has picked up substantially.