Senate Republicans force special session
by Pat Thompson, Council 2 Deputy Director on March 14, 2012As reported last, the coup that was staged by Senate Republicans (with the help of three Democrats) means that lawmakers did not finish their business on time and a Special Session was called by Governor Gregoire. To recap, the Senate passed SB 6378 which does the following harm to our pension system:
1) Closes Plan 2 and forces all new hires into Plan 3. This raises the rates for Plan 2 members and puts the entire system at risk.
2) Eliminates the early retirement options for new hires. This ignores the trade offs that were given to create Plan 3 and cheats all members out of the benefits they were promised.
3) Allows the State to skip a $394 million dollar payment it owes to Plan 1 which puts the entire system for deficits later.
Thankfully, the House Democrats held their ground and over 39 signed onto a letter that asks leadership to deny the bill at hearing.
Please contact the following House members and ask them to reject HB 6378 in its entirety:
Legislative Hotline – 1-800-562-6000