Senate Bill 1 - Funding Our Future

Earlier this evening, Senator Joe Bowen (R, Owensboro) filed Senate Bill 1, the much anticipated pension reform bill that seeks to put Kentucky on a path to fiscal solvency and benefit sustainability.  The following press release was issued (the links to the bill and a section-by-section summary is at the bottom):

SENATOR JOE BOWEN FILES PENSION REFORM MEASURE AS SENATE BILL 1

FRANKFORT, Ky. (February 20, 2018) – State Senator Joe Bowen (R-Owensboro) on Tuesday filed Senate Bill (SB) 1, representing the highly anticipated pension reform proposal from the Senate Majority Caucus. SB 1 contains significant changes from the initial pension reform proposal released in October of 2017.

Senate Bill 1 would not force any current or future state employees or teachers into a defined contribution (401(k)-style) retirement plan. It also would not require all employees and teachers to pay an extra three percent of their salary for a retiree health benefit. And, the bill does not create an incentive for employees and teachers to retire at their earliest possible eligibility by ending the ability to accrue more service credit in their current defined benefit plan.
“We are committed to funding our plan, meeting our obligations to state employees, and to making systemic reforms to ensure these systems will be financially sound for current and future employees,” Senate President Robert Stivers (R-Manchester) said. “When this bill passes, we will over time eliminate the unfunded liability that has been estimated to be as much as $60 billion.”

“When a pension reform proposal was first released in the fall of 2017, there were several issues raised by teacher groups, state employees, retirees, and taxpayers,” House Speaker Pro Tem David Osborne (R-Prospect) said. “This plan is our attempt to address many of those issues brought to us. We listened to the concerns, and this bill represents a compromise that will bring our pension systems to the appropriate funding levels over a 30-year period.”

“This bill represents countless hours of work by countless individuals that will directly address the unfunded liability in Kentucky’s ailing pension systems,” Bowen said. “We listened to key stakeholders, experts, and taxpayers, and we are confident our new plan balances the need to stabilize the system while honoring the commitments we have made.”
To access Senate Bill 1 in full, please visit www.lrc.ky.gov.

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Pension Bill Draft

As promised, linked below is the draft of the pension reform legislation, along with a section-by-section guide to help navigate the bill, and finally a side-by-side benefit comparison chart.

SB120

After seven months of work by Governor Matt Bevin's Criminal Justice Policy Assessment Council, or "CJPAC," SB120 was filed to make changes to the criminal justice system to achieve two goals:

• Improve Public Safety
• Enhance the Administration of Criminal Justice

Below I've included the committee substitute ("SB 120 PSS1" – SB 120 Proposed Senate Substitute 1) which will be considered in committee tomorrow.  The substitute makes additional edits to the bill as it was filed, requested by various stakeholder groups.  I've also included a section-by-section summary of the contents of the committee substitute, and a brief one-page summary of the major policy highlights of the bill.

Real ID

I'm thankful to hear that Kentucky has been granted an extension on the compliance deadline relating to Real ID.  The extension moves the January 30 deadline until June 6th.  See the letter from the Department of Homeland Security here, which sets the new extended deadline and a list of Kentucky's current points of both compliance and non-compliance:

Ft. Campbell Cuts

You may have heard recently that Ft. Campbell is facing a potential cut of drastic proportions - a personnel draw down on the order of 16,000 soldiers.

These proposed cuts come from the Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Assessment (SPEA) which is part of the Army 2020 Force Structure Realignment.

Imagine 16,000 fewer soldiers in the area. Now, imagine the families affected by those cuts.  Now, imagine the ripple economic effects across the entire Pennyrile and Barren River regions (not to mention Clarksville and surrounding Tennessee counties). Let that sink in for a minute.

There is no question that those areas depend largely on Fort Campbell as an economic driver and employer with an annual $4.7 billion impact. As the Christian County Chamber notes, "while the SPEA did take into account the effect on Trigg and Christian Counties it did not take into account other counties that will be affected in this drawdown.  This ripple effect will reach other Kentucky counties such as Caldwell, Hopkins and Todd just to name a few."

These cuts aren't guaranteed. You have a voice.  You have the power to influence the Department of the Army. Now is the time.

The Christian County Chamber of Commerce has posted an online submission form to send a letter to the Army expressing deep concern about the impact of the proposed cuts. Go. There. Now!

NOTE: LETTERS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY AUGUST 25TH! 

Don't want to use the Chamber's form letter? Write your own and mail it here: 

U.S. Army Environmental Command
ATTN: SPEA Public Comments
2450 Connell Road (Bldg 2264)
Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234-7664

Or Email it here:

usarmy.jbsa.aec.nepa@mail.mil

Or call here: 210-466-1590
Or call toll free here: 855-846-3940