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The Calls and E-mails Worked!
As PAGE reported preliminarily earlier today, at a joint meeting of House and Senate Retirement Committees held at the state Capitol, SB 152 failed when the motion to move the bill forward for actuarial study did not receive a necessary second. The summer study was required for the fiscal bill to remain eligible for consideration by the 2016 General Assembly. In accordance with special retirement legislation rules, because the bill did not move to actuarial study today, the proposal appears to be dead unless it is refiled after 2016.
Read another account of today's meeting in the AJC.
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Thanks to House and Senate Retirement Committee Members
Committee members report receiving hundreds of emails from educators across the state who oppose the plan to create a blended retirement plan for educators hired after 2016. Thanks are due to the House and Senate Retirement Committee members who listened to educators' concerns and did not vote to move the bill forward.
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Senate Retirement Committee Members
Chuck Hufstetler - Chairman
Ellis Black - Vice Chairman
Emmanuel Jones - Secretary
Mike Crane
Tyler Harper
Hunter Hill
David Lucas
Michael Rhett
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House Retirement Committee Members
Paul Battles - Chairman
Christian Coomer - Vice Chairman
Patty Bentley
Tommy Benton
James Beverly
Debbie Buckner
Brooks Coleman
J. Craig Gordon
Gerald Greene
Howard Maxwell
John Meadows
Tom Weldon
David Wilkerson
Coach Williams
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Bill Sponsor's Comments
PAGE has previously published a summary of the bill. Sponsor Hunter Hill's comments at today's meeting broadly sketched out his motivation for bringing it forward. He said his desire is to recognize Georgia teachers and compensate them for their work and that SB 152 represents a singular leg of 3-legged stool that includes teacher salary, retirement and benefits, and professional opportunity.
Hill said that SB 152 will affect only new teachers. He characterized Georgia's current teacher retirement system as one that incentivizes longevity of service and expressed his interest in increasing beginning teacher salaries. He said that by moving to a 401(k) teacher retirement plan, Georgia will modernize its compensation plan by paying teachers more up front in lieu of a long-term retirement benefit.
Notably, Hill said that he knows that Governor Deal is looking at this, as well, and that Hill applauds the Governor's efforts.
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Public Comment
Along with representatives from several other educator and retired educator groups, PAGE lobbyists testified against SB 152 during the public comment portion of the meeting. PAGE cited concern that the bill would destabilize the existing TRS fund and would detract from efforts to recruit high-quality educators to the profession. In response to Senator Hill's comments regarding teacher compensation, PAGE cited the ongoing work of the Governor's Education Reform Commission which is reviewing teacher recruitment, retention, and compensation but whose stated mission is not to determine the cost of educating Georgia's students (and recommend large-scale increases in school funding) but rather to better distribute whatever education funding is appropriated annually by state policymakers.
Only one group testified in support of the measure. A representative from Students First, which pushes for increased school choice, said that Georgia's current teacher retirement system is unattractive for those considering teaching jobs who intend to work in the sector only briefly.
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