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THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2019
Oregon Senate passes PERS
reforms in ‘hardest vote of our lives’ CLATSOP ANIMAL ASSISTANCE’S
th
20
Anniversary Gala Dinner
Oregon, is 6 percent of pay. ers spent a good deal of
A business-backed group time Thursday either apol-
The Oregon Senate sus-
pended its rules on Thurs-
day to rush a vote on Dem-
ocratic leaders’ plan to rein
in public employers’ rapidly
increasing pension costs.
Senate Bill 1049, spon-
sored by Senate President
Peter Courtney and House
Speaker Tina Kotek, passed
16 to 12. Sen. Betsy John-
son, D-Scappoose, voted
yes.
Republican lawmakers
made the difference. Three
of them voted in favor of
the bill, while two poten-
tial Republican “no” votes
were absent. Five Demo-
crats voted against the bill.
A House vote has not yet
been scheduled.
The bill does not have
any substantial impact on
the pension system’s $27
billion defi cit. And three
quarters of the bill’s pro-
jected cost savings — $1.2
billion to $1.8 billion in the
2021-23 budget cycle —
come from extending the
minimum payment sched-
ule on the defi cit by eight to
10 years.
Almost all of Thurs-
day’s fl oor debate, however,
focused on the bill’s provi-
sion to cut employee retire-
ment benefi ts. The plan
would redirect a portion
of the retirement contribu-
tions employees currently
make to a supplemental
401(k)-like savings plan.
Instead, some of those con-
tributions — 2.5 percent
of pay for employees hired
before August 28, 2003, and
0.75 percent for employees
hired after — would go into
an account that would sup-
port pension benefi ts.
Today, Oregon is one of
only two states that doesn’t
require employee contri-
butions to its pension plan.
The average pension con-
tribution in states where
employees are also eligi-
ble for Social Security, as in
has fi led ballot measures
that would require a 6 per-
cent employee contribution
to the pension fund.
By reducing the money
going into the supplemen-
tal retirement accounts,
the plan would reduce
career employees’ over-
all retirement benefi ts by
1 to 2 percent of pay. That
might not sound like a big
hit, but employees con-
tend they are already under-
ogizing for their support or
explaining why they were
voting no — generally so
they could “keep a prom-
ise” with public employees.
Several lawmakers claimed
it was the hardest vote of
their career and made fer-
vent arguments against cut-
ting employee compensa-
tion, then voted in favor
saying the state cannot
afford keep “kicking the
can” on the pension issues.
‘THESE UNFAIR AND ILLEGAL
REDUCTIONS ARE A BETRAYAL
OF OREGON VALUES. THE
OREGON HOUSE SHOULD VOTE ‘NO’
TO AVOID ANOTHER EXPENSIVE
AND LENGTHY PERS LAWSUIT.’
John Larson | president of the Oregon Education Association
paid today. They also argue
the new plan could create
the precedent for coming
back and demanding more
from employees if the pen-
sion fund’s fi nancial status
deteriorates.
Public employee unions
have condemned the plan as
unfair and unbalanced, and
criticized lawmakers after
the vote.
“The Oregon Senate has
voted to reduce the retire-
ment security and com-
pensation for educators,
fi refi ghters and all public
employees,” said John Lar-
son, president of the Ore-
gon Education Association.
“These unfair and illegal
reductions are a betrayal of
Oregon values. The Oregon
House should vote “no” to
avoid another expensive
and lengthy PERS lawsuit.”
Many senators seemed
to agree. Mindful that ben-
efi t cuts are political kryp-
tonite in Oregon, lawmak-
But in effect, that’s
exactly what the Senate
voted to do: Punt on the
pension problem.
Legislators voted to
shortchange contributions
to the system for a decade in
order to generate cost sav-
ings now. It’s risky. If the
system’s investment returns
hit another rough patch, or
the economy hits a down-
turn, the retirement sys-
tem’s funded status could
take a major hit, which will
put more upward pressure
on costs.
The only lawmaker
who mentioned the poten-
tial downside of that strat-
egy was Sen. Sara Gelser,
D-Corvallis. She said previ-
ous legislatures had kicked
the can on PERS, and what
SB 1049 does is the same
thing.
“That doesn’t make any
sense to me,” she said.
“That’s how we got here in
the fi rst place.”
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Join us for dinner, drinks, dessert & fun!
An incredible evening hosted by longtime NBC co-host of the Westminster Kennel
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CAA will recognize the volunteers who make it all possible & look back on the
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favorite furry success stories will be joining us!
Fabulous live auction items,
a paddle raise and more!
Live auction items include:
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• A day with a Columbia River Bar Pilot for 4
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• PNW Staycation that includes luxury lodging, dinner out & two
tickets to the Liberty Theatre!
All proceeds to directly benefit the animals at the
Clatsop County Animal Shelter.
Meal choices include pork tenderloin,
chicken cordon bleu & stuffed summer squash (vegan).
A limited number of tickets will be sold, so DO NOT WAIT!
Get your tickets for June 13th NOW!
For more information about this event or to host a
table, contact Crissy Christian (Christian_crissy@yahoo.
com) or Natalie Hannam (natahubbard@gmail.com).
If you are hosting a table we will contact you for your
menu choices. For more information about Clatsop
Animal Assistance go to dogsncats.org
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By TED SICKINGER
The Oregonian
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