NEWS
IMPORTANT LEGISLATIVE BILLS TO TRACK!
IMPORTANT LEGISLATIVE BILLS TO TRACK!
Teacher Quality- SB 736 (Wise), HB 7019 (Fresen)
- Dramatically increase FCAT type testing of students, costing hundreds of millions in tax-dollars, without a way to pay for them
- Link teacher evaluations and pay to student performance on FCAT and similar type tests
- Subjects ALL new teachers to be fired without ANY explanation or just cause
- Prohibits local school boards from even considering many advanced degrees and special training when determining a teacher’s level of pay
Retirement- SB 1130 (Ring)
- Eliminates defined benefit plan for anyone hired on or after 7/1/11
- Changes vesting in defined contribution plan from 1 cliff vesting to 5 year tiered vesting
- Changes from 100% employer paid to allow for employee contribution ( % to TBD)
- Makes no changes to DROP
Retirement - HB 1405 (Workman)
This bill would require employee contributions of 5% to the retirement system by 7/1/11; reduce the accrual value earned for each year of retirement credit effective for fiscal years beginning after June 30, 2011, for current and new plan participants of the Senior Management Service Class and Elected Officers' Class; eliminate the DROP effective July 1, 2011, for new participants; change the Health Insurance Subsidy program (HIS) benefit by excluding service credit earned on and after July 1, 2011, from the formula; exclude service earned on or after July 1, 2011, from the calculation of a retirees Cost-of-Living (COLA) increase.
On March 24, 2011, the State Affairs Committee adopted a strike-all amendment and reported the bill favorably with committee substitute. The strike-all amendment maintains the employee contribution rate; however, it reduces the rate from 5 percent of the employee’s gross compensation to 3 percent. This rate applies to all membership classes. The committee substitute eliminated prospectively the retiree health insurance subsidy beginning July 1, 2011. The strike-all amendment maintains the retiree health insurance subsidy. The committee substitute reduced the service accrual rate for all membership classes to 1.6 percent, with the exception of members of the Special Risk Class who maintained a 3.0 percent service accrual rate. The strike-all amendment eliminates the reduction and maintains the current service accrual rates. Finally, the strike-all amendment provides employer contribution rates to address the unfunded actuarial liabilities of the system.
Amendments to SB 1130:
Latvala
- Places a cap on employee contributions of 2 % for regular class and special risk. Places a cap of 4 % on other classes.
- Only allows employee contributions to be used to pay unfunded liability. Once paid, employee contribution will be eliminated.
- Maintains defined benefit option for new hires in the regular and special risk class.
- Changes vesting in defined benefit plan from 6 to 8 years.
Fasano
- Bars all employees from reemployment.
- Changes accrual rate for elected officials and judges to 1.6% from 3% and 3.3% respectively
Anti-Union- SB 830 (Thrasher) , HB 1023 (Plakon), HB 1025 (Dorworth)
- SB 830 by state Sen. John Thrasher, a Jacksonville Republican, and HB 1021 by Rep Chris Dorworth, R-Lake Mary, would end automatic union-dues deduction by public employers. The bills also would forbid use of dues for political activities.
- HB 1023 by Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, would require recertification by July 1 for any union with membership below half of the employees it represents. Unions that represent law enforcement officers or firefighters would be exempt from the requirement.
- HB 1025 by Rep. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, would make it easier for public employees to seek decertification of their unions from the Public Employees Relations Commission, which oversees labor elections. Unions would be required to send financial reports to members every year, including political contributions and salaries, along with a written explanation of how members can go about decertifying a union.
Class Size - SB 1466 (Simmons)
Attempts to implement by statute what they failed to accomplish with Amendment 8
- Redefines core classes
- Allows core classes over the 18, 22 and 25 caps for extended periods of time
Track these bills:
http://myfloridahouse.gov/
http://www.flsenate.gov/