After Governor Matt Bevin called a special legislative session Monday, the General Assembly convened tonight to address the looming public pension crisis, but adjourned without voting.
Bevin’s announcement came after the Kentucky Supreme Court invalidated Senate Bill 151 on legislative process grounds stating that it did not allow for the proper three readings of the bill.
According to Senator Joe Bowen, tonight’s decision to go home without passing a bill is a sad day for Kentuckians with state-supported pensions and taxpayers. Bowen said Kentucky is faced with $43 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, equating to $10,000 of debt for the 4.3 million Kentucky citizens.
“This was a sad commentary of the General Assembly. I am really disappointed in my Republican colleagues who failed to stand up to the challenge tonight,” Bowen said. “This was the very least to stop the bleeding.”
According to Bowen, the bill that was to be voted on tonight took out several provisions of Senate Bill 151, making it in Bowen’s opinion “even less egregious to stakeholders.”
“However, there was going to be a committee sub by the House to restore the language of SB 151,” Bowen said.
But according to Bowen, it was apparent in tonight’s caucus meeting that there was not enough support by the legislature.
“Once the House gaveled out, the Senate is obligated to do the same,” Bowen said. “But I don’t know if we would have had the support either.”
Bowen said that while he believed all local delegates supported tonight’s pension reform, he speculated that other legislators felt pressure from outside influences and said there wasn’t enough political will to get the job done.
Daviess County Public School Superintendent Matt Robbins said he was relieved by tonight’s outcome.
“After what we experienced last spring, Governor Bevin’s special called meeting brought back a lot of bad memories,” Robbins said of Monday’s last-minute announcement that the pension bill would once again be up for a vote. “The timing before Christmas was another tough pill to swallow.”
Robbins said he favors the shared responsibility plan that is endorsed by Kentucky Education Association, Kentucky Retired Teachers Association and Kentucky Association of School Superintendents. According to Robbins, this plan does make changes to the retirement system, but also preserves it.
Robbins says that since legislators provided statewide funding to the retirement system in the last two years, it has responded in an upward trajectory — a 3 percent increase, according to Robbins. In 2016, Kentucky had 54.7 percent of necessary funds in the reserve to cover pensions. In 2018, that number jumped to 57.7 percent.
“In a decade, we could increase 15 percent, which puts us near 75 percent,” Robbins said, pointing out that while 100 percent funding is ideal, the national average sits in the low 70s. “This proves that if retirement is funded properly, we are seeing it respond in a northbound direction.”
Robbins agrees that changes need to be made regarding Kentucky teachers’ retirement, but he said those changes need to be reasonable and understandable. He said when considering pension reform, legislators must consider the need to attract the best teachers into the profession.
“The responsibility is on us to make the right decision,” Robbins said. “I am very concerned about the profession we call teaching.”
