Bills advance to close loophole allowing some lawmakers to increase their pay to $140,000
Two bills that advanced in House and Senate committees on Wednesday both exempt any lawmaker who has already taken advantage of the benefit. Full Story
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![State Representatives and their families sit on the House floor on the opening day of the 88th Legislative Session at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 10, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Why three longtime Texas lawmakers are now eligible for an extra $140,000 a year
A few of Texas’ most veteran lawmakers may have seen their part-time legislative compensation skyrocket from $7,200 to nearly $150,000 annually, thanks to a law passed quietly at the end of the 2021 legislative session. Full Story
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![From left: State Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, State Reps. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, and Tom Craddick, R-Midland.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune; Todd Wiseman/The Texas Tribune; Bob Daemmrich -
Overhaul to Texas state government employees’ retirement accounts advanced out of Legislature
Senate Bill 321 would enroll new state workers in a cash-balance plan — similar to a common 401(k) retirement account — rather than the defined-benefit pension plan that current employees have. Full Story
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![The dome of the Texas Capitol on April 12, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate approves overhaul of pension plans for new state employees
Senate Bill 321 would also authorize yearly payments to shore up $14.7 billion in unfunded pension obligations. Full Story
![The dome of the Texas Capitol on April 12, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Overhaul to Texas state employee pension plan unveiled and quickly advanced by state Senate committee
Senate Bill 321 would enroll new employees eligible for the Texas Employees Retirement System in a cash balance plan — similar to a common 401(k) retirement account — instead of the traditional, defined benefit pension plan. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol on Feb. 1, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Employees Retirement System of Texas lowers expectations, worrying workers
Trustees for the Employees Retirement System of Texas voted Wednesday to decrease earnings assumptions for its $26 billion trust fund, a rare move that could have major implications for the state budget and the retirement system’s beneficiaries. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Texas state workers fear fallout from changing math on pensions
The Employees Retirement System of Texas is considering lowering its earnings assumption for the $26 billion trust fund. Labor advocates fear the move would push lawmakers to cut benefits or require current workers to chip in more. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
State employee health care fix could hurt Texas medical schools, critics say
Senators believe they have found a way to save $80 million on health care for state employees. But medical schools say the savings would come at their expense. Full Story
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Senator aims to open legislators' pension records to public
Sen. Van Taylor's bill would let the public find out when former lawmakers with felony convictions are receiving state pensions Full Story
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![Sen. Van Taylor, R-Plano, talks about his efforts regarding ethics and transparency during a TTEvents discussion on Jan. 31, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas may still be giving state-funded pension to convicted elected officials
More than two dozen former elected officials convicted of felonies may be receiving taxpayer-funded retirement pay. But state law keeps the details secret. Full Story
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![Sen.Van Taylor R-Plano questions a witness during a Aug 3, 2016 Senate Committee on Education meeting]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
For Rep. Dawnna Dukes, delayed resignation yields bigger pension check
State Rep. Dawnna Dukes announced her retirement in September, but doesn't plan to make it official until Tuesday. That would make her annual pension payout $3,220 bigger. Full Story
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![State Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, speaks with media following the presentation of a $15,000 scholarship donation to Huston-Tillotson University at the African American Heritage Festival on the University campus in Austin, TX on Feb. 27, 2016.]()
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State Workers Want Pensions to Catch Up
Thousands of retired Texas state workers are essentially stuck in 2001. Though health care, food and pretty much everything else keep getting more expensive, their monthly pension checks haven’t budged. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Analysis: A Judicious Swipe at Pensions for State Lawmakers
Between now and the next legislative session, Texas lawmakers will be tinkering with an obscure formula that links their own state pensions to the salaries of state judges. Full Story
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Senate Approves State Employee Pension Funding Plan
The Texas Senate on Friday voted to beef up the state’s underfunded retirement system for state employees by adding about $440 million to the program, a plan that has received mixed reviews from state employee advocacy groups. Full Story
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![State Rep. Dan Flynn, R-Van, co-chair of the House Committee on Transparency in State Agency Operations, is shown calling an executive session on May, 12, 2014.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
House Takes Step to Patch Pension Fund Hole
State workers would pay more into their retirement system but get pay raises to offset the cost under legislation that earned preliminary House approval Monday. Full Story
![State Rep. Dan Flynn, R-Van, co-chair of the House Committee on Transparency in State Agency Operations, is shown calling an executive session on May, 12, 2014.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
House Plan Would Plug Hole in Pension Fund
Texas House leaders unveiled a plan Tuesday to shore up the state's chronically underfunded retirement system for employees that requires workers to pay more into the system, but gives them a pay raise to offset the cost. Full Story
![State Rep. Dan Flynn, R-Van, co-chair of the House Committee on Transparency in State Agency Operations, is shown calling an executive session on May, 12, 2014.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Judicial Pay Raises Bring a Little Something Extra
Lawmakers are talking seriously about a 21.5 percent pay raise for state district judges, which would increase the pensions of those same lawmakers by that same amount. Full Story
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Deciphering a Short Turn at the Governor's Office
Political insiders rarely take things at face value, so it’s not surprising that they are scratching their collective heads over Ann Bishop’s sudden hiring and equally sudden departure from the office of Gov. Rick Perry. Full Story
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![The Texas Tribune Festival 2012 Opening Session: A conversation with Gov. Rick Perry and Evan Smith, Sept. 21, 2012.]()
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Former Rick Perry Aide Got $162,500 Bonus
Days before she became Gov. Rick Perry's chief of staff, Ann Bishop — already the highest-paid executive officer at a state agency — received a $162,500 bonus from the Employees Retirement System, records show. Full Story
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![Gov. Rick Perry meets with senior staff members at his office in the state Capitol on Jan. 9, 2013.]()
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Pension Privacy Gets Attention of Legislators
Texas' public pension systems — including the one state lawmakers pay into — have an airtight exemption from the landmark 1973 sunshine law that was designed to let taxpayers known how public money is being spent. But some lawmakers want to change that. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman / Greg McMullen