Gov. Scott Walker should come to Texas, where much of what he’s seeking already exists. The right to bargain collectively isn’t allowed among state employees, and no public employee in Texas may legally go on strike.
Employee Retirement System
Posted in
State Government
Lawmakers Mull Reductions to Pension Plans
As Texas lawmakers look to slash billions in state spending, pension plans have become fair game. Mose Buchele of KUT News reports on a legislative proposal to decrease state contributions to two retirement plans that collectively serve hundreds of thousands of Texans.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
A Stiff Cocktail of Budget Cuts
The Texas House has unveiled a $156.4 billion budget that’s $31.1 billion smaller than the current two-year spending plan — a drop of 16.6 percent. The proposed budget came with $1.2 billion in recommendations for savings and new revenue from the Legislative Budget Board.
Posted in
Health care
Losing Dependence
Federal health care reform’s biggest benefit for young adults — a mandate that insurance providers cover dependents until they reach age 26 — won’t apply to thousands of 25-year-old Texans for one simple reason: Their parents work for the state. The federal rule, which went into effect in late September, required all insurance providers to extend their cap to 26 at the start of their next “plan year.” For many private providers, that began Jan. 1. But the Texas Employees Retirement System plan year doesn’t begin until next September, meaning 5,500 25-year-olds will miss out.
Posted in
Economy
Benefits and Drawbacks
The insurance plan for state employees will have a $140.4 million shortfall next year — and that’s the least of its problems. The projected shortfall for the two years after that is $880 million, and it will take another $476 million to replenish the legally required contingency fund. The Employee Retirement System and state leaders are surprisingly mellow about the red ink, saying growth in the cost of health benefits has actually stabilized at around 9 percent. But steady and large increases in costs threaten to erode the program, leaving policymakers to consider cuts in benefits, to negotiate lower prices or to find vast amounts of new money.
Posted inState Government
Doubling Down on Pension Losses?
When the economy tanked, public pension funds across the country — including here in Texas — lost billions. Some funds are looking to put more money into private equity, which promises big returns and carries big risks. As Matt Largey of KUT News reports, it could be doubling-down on losses already suffered.
Posted in
State Government
TribBlog: Hodge Can Draw State Pension Despite Guilty Plea
A federal conviction for lying on her taxes may send embattled Dallas Democratic Rep. Terri Hodge to prison. But it won’t stop her from drawing a state pension.
Posted in
Economy
No Experience Necessary
Few members of the State Board of Education have finance expertise. Should we be concerned that they manage the investments of the $23 billion Permanent School Fund?
Posted in
State Government
TribBlog: Some States May Ban Return-to-work
Though Texas employees are increasingly retiring just to get rehired — a clever way to bring in a salary AND a pension at once — USA Today reports that many states are curbing the practice.
Posted in
Demographics
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Ramsey and others on Bill White and the changing state of the race for governor; Thevenot’s two-parter on what Dallas churches are doing to combat social ills and racial division; Ramshaw on the use of force by school district police departments (and why parents don’t know about it); Grissom’s two-parter, abetted by Stiles, on unregulated payday lenders; Aguilar on Mexican immigrants who play against type; and Rapoport on those missing extra checks for retired public employees. The best of the best from November 21 to 25, 2009.
