Latest news with #HouseBill78
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alaska House votes to revive pension plan for state and municipal workers
Rep. Kevin McCabe, R-Big Lake, talks with Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage, during a break in debate over House Bill 78, the pension bill, on Monday, May 12, 2025. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon) Almost 20 years after eliminating Alaska's public pension program, the House of Representatives has voted to open a new pension system for municipal and state workers. With proponents saying the state's existing, 401(k)-like retirement system is ineffective and a deterrent for hiring and retention, the House voted 21-19 late Monday to approve House Bill 78. If enacted, it would create a new pension plan and allow current employees to opt into the program. The bill would cover Alaska's state employees as well as all of the teachers employed by local school districts and thousands of municipal workers employed by cities and boroughs across Alaska. The bill's opponents cited potential costs and said they fear a repeat of the state's prior pension system, which accrued a multibillion-dollar shortfall after a failed estimate by actuaries. Monday's vote is a significant accomplishment for pension supporters: This is the first time since the old program ended in 2006 that the House has voted to restart a public pension for all state and municipal workers. The state Senate voted in 2012 and 2024 to revive a pension program for all employees, and the House voted in 2022 to create a pension just for public safety workers, but none of those bills became law. This time may be different. Prominent members of the state Senate have said they intend to advance a pension bill next year, which would put the issue in front of Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who has previously opposed the idea. House Majority Leader Chuck Kopp, R-Anchorage, said the bill is a major priority, even if the governor vetoes it. 'The constituents who sent us here to Juneau need to see us trying, with all our might, to fix the threadbare fabric of our public services in a way that is fiscally sustainable,' he said by text message after Monday's vote. 'Every time the bill is presented, heard, and argued, the fiscal responsibility and justice of our cause shines like the noonday sun. Alaska will soon have a responsible pension plan; I don't know what day or year, but it will have one again and we will be a competitive employer again.' HB 78 would create a new pension investment fund separate from the existing one. Unlike in the current system, employees would be guaranteed a certain level of retirement pay, regardless of stock market performance. They also wouldn't increase those benefits if they leave their public sector job, unlike the current system, in which benefits grow as the investments grow. Current employees would be allowed to switch from their 401(k)-style retirement system to the new system. Retirement would be possible at age 60, or with 30 years of service. Police officers and firefighters would be allowed to retire at age 55, with at least 20 years of work, or at age 50 if they've worked at least 25 years. Employees would be asked to contribute 8% of their pay to the pension plan, but that would be adjustable, up to 12% of income, if needed to avoid a funding gap. Health insurance benefits, a major contributor to the cost of the old pension system, are not included. Pensions would be based on the highest five years of an employee's salary, rather than the highest three years, as was the case under the old system. Proponents have billed the pension revival as a way to fight employee turnover and alleviate a chronic worker shortage at state agencies. Since 2006, when the pension program ended for new employees, research has found that new state and municipal workers in Alaska are now much less likely to remain in the state and frequently earn less money toward retirement under the defined contribution, or DC, plans than employees who receive pensions. 'In the world of teaching, if you're a Tier 3 teacher, which is the DC plan, it's called the death tier,' said Rep. Rebecca Himschoot, I-Sitka and a former teacher. 'You're going to teach until the day you die. That's because studies have shown that a teacher in Tier 3 has a 30% chance of success in retirement. It's not working for our Tier 3 teachers.' Rep. Donna Mears, D-Anchorage, said her son was born in July 2006, the same month that the state stopped offering pensions. He's now preparing to graduate high school, and in the intervening years, she's had a career as an engineer. 'In that time, I've seen a decline in the longevity and expertise of regulators,' she said. Kopp, speaking on the House floor, said that because the state's retirement system has failed to meet employee demand, the state is now paying more than it should in pay and bonuses. 'This is the cost of doing nothing. It is huge. We are burning bonfires of money,' he said. Proponents also argue that the state is spending much more than it needs to on training, because it won't have to repeatedly retrain new employees. 'The fundamental question to me is are we going to create an environment where people can stay in Alaska or move to Alaska … and stay for a lifetime,' said Rep. Ky Holland, I-Anchorage. Those who voted against the bill on Monday said they are concerned about the accuracy of cost projections and doubt that the bill will deliver on backers' promises. 'You can say it's a more modern version (of a pension). Perhaps it is, but it feels like it is still an unaffordable model,' said Rep. Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla. Rep. Kevin McCabe, R-Big Lake, noted that actuaries failed to accurately track prior costs. 'We are asking them to trust the actuarials. How did that work out last time?' he said. Kopp responded by saying that this time, the pension system will rely on three independently operating actuarial estimates, not one potential point of failure. Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage, said the bill offers a chance to stop the 'everlasting hamster wheel' of employee training and will be a big morale booster for public employees. 'This is a vote of hope that we can do better,' he said. Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, wasn't convinced. 'There's a lot in this bill that we don't understand, and we don't really have a grasp on how much it's going to cost us, and we are literally — to quote another member — making a vote of hope. Oh, that doesn't give me a lot of confidence. I hope that it does work out well, but if it does not work out well, what is plan B?' House Bill 78 advances to the Senate, which is expected to take up the measure when the Legislature reconvenes in January 2026. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alaska lawmakers say pension reform is a 'two-year project'
Apr. 16—Revamping retirement options for Alaska's public sector is "a two-year project," state Senate and House majority leaders said Tuesday, signaling that adoption of a new pension bill was unlikely before this year's legislative session ends next month. The bipartisan House and Senate coalitions both identified pension reform as one of their top policy goals when they formed late last year, amid ongoing recruitment and retention challenges in Alaska's public sector. Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel, an Anchorage Republican, since 2023 has advocated for a new defined benefit plan that would guarantee income to retirees from Alaska's public sector employers — including the state, school districts and law enforcement agencies — for the first time since 2006. In 2023, the Senate adopted Giessel's bill only to have it languish in the Republican-controlled House. This year, Giessel said the Senate is waiting on the House to act on the bill first. Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Chuck Kopp, also an Anchorage Republican, said Tuesday that though pension reform remains a priority for his caucus, progress on the legislation was slowed by several factors, including an unexpectedly protracted debate on the operating budget in the House Finance Committee. In February, Kopp said the bill would be voted on by the full House by the end of March. March came and went, and the bill remains before the House Finance Committee. On Tuesday, Kopp said he expected House Bill 78 — which would create a new defined benefit program for the public sector — to be before the full House for a vote by the first week of May. Alaska discontinued its previous defined benefit plan for new public sector workers in 2006, amid an unfunded liability that was fueled by incorrect actuarial analyses. Nearly 20 years later, the state is still paying off its debt to the plan. Since then, Alaska has offered its teachers, police officers, firefighters and other public sector workers access to a defined contribution plan similar to a 401(k), under which workers could contribute to an investment account but had no option for guaranteed income from the state in retirement. That change has left many public sector workers in Alaska without enough funds to securely retire. It has also made Alaska the only state in the union to offer its teachers neither a pension nor access to Social Security. Public sector union leaders and agency heads now say that the lack of a defined benefit option is a key driver in the state's recruitment and retention crisis, which has led to high vacancy rates in Alaska school districts, state agencies, and law enforcement posts. Jesse Slone, a data analyst for the Alaska Department of Corrections and a representative for his union, said earlier this month that he supports the return of pensions for state employees. Those who were hired by the state before it discontinued pensions — including his relatives — "aren't wealthy, but they have what so many in my generation fear that they won't: a dignified, stable retirement," he told lawmakers in the House Finance Committee. "Some say young people don't want pensions, but when I've repeated that line to recent graduates, they've literally laughed at my face," said Slone. "That belief that hard work should be honored — it isn't outdated." But disagreements persist on whether a new pension system will solve Alaska's worker recruitment and retention crisis. Republicans in the House and Senate minorities have largely opposed the effort to reintroduce pensions, citing fears over another unfunded liability or a cost that the state cannot bear amid reduced revenue forecasts and disinterest in levying new taxes. A new actuarial analysis presented to the House Finance Committee earlier this month indicated the bill would cost up to $580 million over a 14-year period, averaging out to around $40 million per year. Kopp said that cost will likely be balanced in the long run by reductions in hiring and retention bonuses that the state has resorted in recent years to offering in key sectors — including to correctional officers, state troopers and state workers who process food assistance applications. The state would also likely save money by reducing the cost of frequently hiring and training new workers, Kopp said. "It compares favorably with the projected savings to the state, which is $76 million a year in savings in just reduced lost training dollars, the cost of turnover, recruitment, rehire, retraining," Kopp said. "The cost of doing nothing is dramatically higher than what's being presented in this bill." Past efforts to reintroduce a pension plan have stalled in either the House or the Senate. But Kopp said that over time, the cause of improving public sector retirement has become more popular among voters and elected officials. Kopp last year won his seat against incumbent Rep. Craig Johnson, after Kopp made public pensions a key element of his campaign. The defined benefit plan considered this year is not a return to the pensions Alaska offered until 2006, Kopp and Giessel say. Unlike that plan, their proposal would have Alaska workers shoulder a share of the burden if the retirement plan becomes underfunded. Their plan also does not offer health insurance to retirees, and does not offer a cost of living adjustment to those who choose to stay in Alaska. Those changes have some Alaskans worried. During a recent session of public testimony before the House Finance Committee, most speakers said they favored a return to defined benefits, but some worried about the specifics of the plan encompassed in House Bill 78. Danielle Redmond, a former retirement counselor for the state of Alaska, said she was concerned about the lack of medical benefits — known as AlaskaCare — included for retirees in the new pension plan proposal. "I can't tell you how many retirees told me it was even more important to them than the money," said Redmond. "You can get a 401(k) plan anywhere, but retiree medical was the key for many of the members that I talked to." Redmond, who herself does not currently qualify for a pension because she was hired by the state after 2006, said she was not sure how she would pick "if forced to choose between a pension plan or health care."
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Digital ID card, driver's license option bill narrowly passes Idaho House
The state flags hangs from the rotunda of the Idaho State Capitol Building in Boise on Jan. 7, 2025. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) The Idaho House of Representatives on Tuesday narrowly passed a bill to let Idahoans have digital identification cards. House Bill 78, sponsored by Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen, R-Idaho Falls, would allow the Idaho Transportation Department to issue electronic driver's licenses and ID cards that people could access on their mobile phone's wallet application. If the bill becomes law, the new digital driver's licenses would be optional, not required, and people with a mobile driver's license would still be required to have a physical driver's license. Mickelsen said almost three-forths of states either offer an electronic driver's license, or are developing one. 'By moving to a mobile driver's license system, it actually is more secure than the current system in which your driver's license exists, because it moves it into a … trusted vault that protects your data,' Mickelsen told the House. She added that digital driver's licenses would be 'an immigration security strategy,' and hopefully help stop fraud in Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as 'we build out Idaho's digital wallet.' Under the bill, digital driver's licenses or identification cards would not be allowed as proof of identification at election polls. The Idaho House passed the bill Tuesday on a 37-33 vote. In the half-hour debate on the bill, several lawmakers raised privacy and security concerns. The bill now heads to the Idaho Senate. To become law, Idaho bills must pass the House and Senate, and avoid the governor's veto. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Rep. Joe Alfieri, R-Coeur d'Alene, who voted against the bill, raised several privacy concerns. 'We have a much further area to be concerned about, besides our being hacked, our individual information being hacked — the possibility of creating digital citizens who can collect benefits or, by the way, vote,' he argued. Rep. Rod Furniss, R-Rigby, who voted for the bill, called the bill 'a logical step in the right direction' and said the House's debate on the bill would be different if lawmakers were younger. 'If we had a room full of 25 year olds in this room, they would think we are old fuddy-duddies for not putting this on our phone and not making it legal and not being a step in the right direction,' Furniss told the House. 'This is going to come in the future, whether you want it or not.' Rep. Brandon Mitchell, R–Moscow, who voted against the bill, said sheriffs in his district opposed the bill, along with several university security department heads he talked to. ''No, this is a bad idea. My students could hack into that in minutes,' is what they were telling me,' Mitchell said. Mickelsen said the bill is supported by many sheriffs, and several cybersecurity experts at Idaho National Laboratory she consulted assured her about possible security risks. 'They all told me that these are some of the highest keys that exist out there in the cyber world. … That it's a very safe, very reliable system,' she said. The bill's fiscal note estimates it will have no fiscal impact, since ITD has already been allocated money for similar projects. The bill would also not automatically let law enforcement officers search people's phones if people present their digital ID cards. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ohio lawmakers may expand use of IDs on cellphones
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — About seven months ago, Ohio joined a short list of states in allowing residents to have their ID on their phones. Since then, the use has been fairly limited so Ohio lawmakers are working to expand it with a bipartisan effort. 'I think it's a huge ease-of-use program for the state of Ohio,' Rep. Thomas Hall (R-Madison Township) said. Hall is one of the sponsors of House Bill 78. The legislation would allow Ohioans to use a valid digital ID instead of a physical ID card, in almost any case. The bill originally allowed Ohioans to use a digital ID for voting, but that was stripped from the bill Tuesday morning. ODOT introduces $2B road improvement project for U.S. 23 north of Columbus 'We want to make sure that the infrastructure is ready for that and secure for that,' Hall said. Under this bill, residents would be able to use a digital ID when they got pulled over, for any Bureau of Motor Vehicle purposes, or simply when an ID is asked for. Even though people would not need to have a physical ID on hand, they would still need to have one, even if it is locked away and never carried. 'If you want to have a valid credit card, you got to have a valid physical ID as well,' Hall said. 'You can still use a digital side of things, but you need to have that valid for security purposes.' The Ohio Department of Public Safety said, 'Ohio has worked to ensure that digital IDs are secure and convenient and would welcome more options for residents to use them.' Hall said it will help Ohioans in more than just day-to-day use. North Linden home shut down by officials after January homicide 'Ease of use, again, for the truck drivers to make it known that they can use a digital ID,' he said. But the Ohio Trucking Association said this bill will not be much of a game changer. Rep. Jack Daniels (R-New Franklin) owns a trucking company and agreed the digital ID is not what they are worried about. 'I don't care about the phone, that makes no difference to me,' Daniels said. 'I don't see why you need your ID on your phone. I just don't want to lose the enhanced ID.' Another of the bill's sponsors, Rep. Joe Miller (D-Amherst), said the intent is not to strip the state of enhanced ID usage. Either way, while enhanced IDs, which allow you to cross borders in a vehicle without a passport, are technically legal in the state, the federal government has still not extended its use to Ohio's IDs. The bill had its first hearing Tuesday, so it likely has a bit of time before passing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NC Democratic lawmakers introduce bills to protect immigrants in sensitive locales
Rep. Renee Price (D-Caswell, Orange) speaks about HB 78 at a Legislative Building press conference on Tuesday, Feb. 25. (Photo: Ahmed Jallow/NC Newsline) North Carolina Democratic lawmakers have introduced two bills to restrict local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration authorities in schools, hospitals, workplaces and religious places. House Bill 78, sponsored by Rep. Renee Price (D-Caswell, Orange), would prohibit law enforcement from participating in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions in places of worship, schools and hospitals. A companion bill, House Bill 80 from Rep. Deb Butler (D-New Hanover), would extend those restrictions to farms and construction sites. The proposals come in the wake of a federal policy change that revoked protections for 'sensitive locations' such as schools from immigration raids, a shift that has caused anxiety in immigrant communities. 'Subjecting people with no criminal record to disruptive and traumatic enforcement actions in places of worship, hospitals or schools is unconscionable,' Price said at a press conference Tuesday morning. Butler and advocates tied the bills to economic stability, noting that an estimated 35% of North Carolina's construction workers are undocumented. Mario Alfaro, policy manager at Latino rights group El Pueblo, said construction has the state's highest number and percentage of undocumented workers. 'We support HB78 and HB80 because they open the space to discuss an issue that many politicians want to ignore or hide: that North Carolina's economy needs immigrant workers,' said Alfaro. Legislative sponsors of the bills argue that requiring local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration enforcement has created unnecessary fear and disruption in immigrant communities, hurting workers, businesses, and entire communities. 'When law enforcement is used as an extension of ICE, it discourages workers from showing up, reporting unsafe conditions, or even engaging with their own communities,' Butler said. HB 78 would amend state law to block police and sheriffs' offices from aiding ICE in apprehending individuals or serving removal warrants in protected spaces. HB 80 specifically bars such collaboration at worksites. Yesenia Cuello of NC FIELD, an advocacy group, said the measures would preserve public safety and labor forces: 'The reality is North Carolina cannot afford to create a climate of fear, especially in places where we work, pray and learn,' Cuello said. 'When communities don't feel safe engaging with law enforcement, public safety suffers and crime rates skyrocket. This bill keeps our workforce strong, our economy stable, and our communities whole.' The bills are not expected to move forward, as Republicans control both the House and Senate in the legislature. In contrast, Senate Bill 153 introduced Monday and cosponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger would require state and local agencies to cooperate with federal immigration authorities and prohibit University of North Carolina institutions from becoming 'sanctuary universities.'
