It’s that time of year again! Each year, states practice rights provided by the Tenth Amendment to hold legislative sessions where representatives meet to draft and vote on legislation and policies. Today, NPPC shares state recaps from the 2022 legislative session in the fight to protect pension laws and policies.
Colorado: Colorado PERA members secured a significant win in retirement security. Lawmakers passed HB22-1029, a bill requiring the legislature to repay PERA for its missed $225 million direct contribution in 2020. Legislators agreed to pay $380M from the PERA Cash Fund to PERA’s investment fund, including the $225M payback plus a $155M pre-payment towards next year’s direct contribution. The original version of HB22-1029 also sought to repay the $78.57M lost in investment earnings, but the amended bill dropped that provision; however, the repayment of the missed contribution and future payment do promise future retirement security.
Kentucky: A two-year state budget required the most attention from Kentucky legislators during the session. In good news for the public pension systems, the budget bill, HB1, included pension contributions above the actuarially required amount; $215 million in additional funding for the State Police Retirement System, $250 million for the Kentucky Employee Retirement System non-hazardous (KERS-NH) fund, and a $479 million appropriation to the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System. HB604 passed in the final hours of the session, putting another $210 million in the KERS-NH pension fund. Unfortunately, HB135 did not pass this year. The bill would have improved the recruitment and retention of first responders by offering a defined-benefit pension.
New Hampshire: Lawmakers in New Hampshire shot down HB1590, a bill that would have allowed municipalities to withdraw participation from the New Hampshire Retirement System (NHRS) failed in a House vote, 287-57. HB1557, which would have improved the process in which NHRS participants elect to receive survivor benefits upon retirement, was sent to an interim study by the House Executive Departments and Administration Committee. Another important piece of legislation, HB1318, did pass on to the Governor’s desk. HB1318 initiates a non-compliance penalty for employers who fail to provide information regarding a member’s retirement within a month after receiving a written request by NHRS.
Wyoming: This year, the Wyoming legislature passed SF 39 to shore up the now closed Fire A plan. Unfortunately, the legislature failed to pass an inflation adjustment for public employee retirees.
Be on the lookout for part two of our legislative recap in the coming weeks!