Repayment Bill Still Waiting
Amidst the ongoing budget battle, a CTA-sponsored measure that would restore more than $500 million plus interest to the State Teachers' Retirement System (STRS) is still waiting action in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 265 by Assembly Member Gene Mullin (D-South San Francisco) and Assembly Member Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Chino) cleared the Senate Public Employment and Retirement (PER) Committee on June 23.
Since that time, the measure has been on hold in Appropriations. It is facing opposition from Senate Republicans on the panel, who have apparently linked its outcome to issues related to the budget.
To move, AB 265 needs a two-thirds majority vote on the Senate floor because it is an "appropriations" measure, a non-education bill containing funding.
The issue surfaced when lawmakers and the governor agreed to defer $500 million, the state's annual payment to STRS's Supplemental Benefits Maintenance Account (SBMA), to help balance the budget.
Funds in the SBMA underwrite the cost of retirees' purchasing power guarantee, which protects the pensions from the ravages of inflation. Because of the guarantee, STRS pensions always retain at least 80% of their original value.
CTA Members:
Urge your Senators to vote yes on AB 265 (Mullin/Negrete McLeod).