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Make Contacts Now for ESP Fair Dismissal Act
It is up for a vote on Thursday.
We are gaining supporters for HB 1921, the ESP Fair Dismissal Act, but we still need many more in order for the bill to pass. The bill is sponsored by Reps. Barbara Nix, D-Benton; Johnnie Roebuck, D-Arkadelphia; Jim Nickels, D-North Little Rock; and Nancy Blount, D-Marianna.
The bill is currently in the House Education Committee. We have contacted all of the House committee members and provided them with a copy of the bill, as well as a summary of its purpose. The bill needs 11 representatives to support the bill before it can leave the committee and go before the full House.
Currently Reps. Nancy Blount, David Cook and Rick Saunders say they fully support the bill. The remaining committee members are reviewing the bill and are willing to listen. So please contact these representatives – they need to hear what you have to say. Simply put, this bill provides employees fair treatment and a fair process.
House Education Committee members who have not indicated support are:
Bill Abernathy, D-Mena; abernathyb@arkleg.state.ar.us
Monty Betts, D-Searcy; bettsm@arkleg.state.ar.us
Toni Bradford, D-Pine Bluff; bradfordt@arkleg.state.ar.us
Jerry Brown, D-Wynne; brownj@arkleg.state.ar.us
Leslie Carnine, R-Rogers; carninel@arkleg.state.ar.us
Eddie Cheatham, D-Crossett; cheathame@arkleg.state.ar.us
Robert Dale, R-Dover; redale70@yahoo.com
Jody Dickinson, D-Newport; (no e-mail listed)
Dan Greenberg, R-Bryant; rep.greenberg@gmail.com
Donna Hutchinson, R-Bella Vista; hutchinsond@arkleg.state.ar.us
Mark Martin, R-Prairie Grove; martinm@arkleg.state.ar.us
Mark Perry, D-Jacksonville; mperry@alltel.net
David Rainey, D-Dumas; raineyd@arkleg.state.ar.us
Tim Summers, R-Bentonville; summerst@arkleg.state.ar.us
Linda Tyler, D-Conway; tylerl@arkleg.state.ar.us
Charolette Wagner, D-Manila; wagnerc@arkleg.state.ar.us
You may also contact your representatives online. Go to www.capwiz.com/nea/ar/state/main/?state=AR&view=myofficials. Or you may call (501) 682-6211 and leave a message. This phone number is only in operation while the House is in session.
HB 1921 makes several important provisions for ESPs and ensures their fair treatment if termination or nonrenewal of their contract is being considered.
Senate Bill 165-ATRS Alert
Senate Bill 165 by Senator Gene Jeffress (D-Louann) is on the agenda of the Joint Committee on Retirement and Social Security tomorrow. Current law provides that an ATRS member can retire return to work after only a thirty day separation period; SB 165 would change the required separation period to 180 days.
Many AEA members have contacted the Association and urged us to oppose this change. The Association has looked very closely at this issue and talked a number of times with ATRS staff and other individuals knowledgeable about retirement issues. Based upon the information we have obtained, the Association believes failure to pass SB 165 will cause serious harm to current and future retirees. The AEA therefore supports SB 165.
The following update from ATRS fully explains why SB 165 is necessary.
Extreme danger to members and employers if senate bill 165 fails to pass with necessary separation from service.
The primary and underlying reason for the introduction of SB 165 by Arkansas Teacher Retirement System (ATRS) is to comply with Federal Pension laws and the IRS requirements under those pension laws. As background, Congress passed the Pension Protection Act (PPA) in 2006. The PPA, as it is known, has provisions in it that are intended to permit in service retirement payments after a member has reached “normal retirement age.” This means that the PPA specifies when a retirement plan can allow a member to both work and receive a retirement payment at the same time. Although the law was first passed in 2006 to apply specifically to public pension plans, the IRS has given some leeway to public pension plans by delaying the effective date of the “normal retirement age” regulations until January 1, 2011. It appears no more delays will occur.
The PPA gives the IRS the authority to remove the tax and plan qualification status for any public retirement plan, such as ATRS, if laws and regulations do not comply with the PPA. SB 165 is intended to bring ATRS into compliance with the PPA. Currently, an ATRS member can retire well prior to age 62 (the PPA safe harbor “normal retirement age”) by having more than 28 years of credited service in ATRS. A member entering ATRS at age 22 could retire at age 50. Under current law, that member can return to work for an ATRS covered employer after only a 30 day separation period. The PPA requires significant separation if a member who has not reached “normal retirement age” is to return to work at an ATRS covered employer. The length of time is not defined in the PPA or in the IRS regulations. However, all experts with whom ATRS has addressed this issue has concluded that 30 – 90 days is too short a time, and that one year is a safe amount of time for separation. ATRS has chosen what ATRS believes is a defendable period of six months.
Conclusion:
This is a very important issue. ATRS staff will work to provide information on the issue and to ensure that the ATRS plan remains in compliance with all laws necessary to remain as a tax qualified plan. Our goal is to prevent the devastating impacts that could occur if the tax qualification of ATRS were lost by failure to comply with the PPA. To read the entire document published by ATRS go to
www.aeaonline.org/_AEA/_AEA/pdf/SB165.pdf
Joint Budget Committee Cochair signs on HB 1413
Senator Gilbert Baker (R-Conway) who is the cochairman of the Joint Budget Committee signed on as a cosponsor to HB 1413 that authorized the spending of an additional $25 M for public school employees health insurance. There are now 81 House and 20 Senate members on HB 1413. The hunt for funding continues.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that "Baker said, getting more teacher insurance money is possibility but its not going to be easy." He said, "he's probably somewhere in the middle," suggesting a smaller amount from the surplus combined with some ongoing funding.
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