STATE
BlueMountainEagle.com
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
A9
PERS reform passes after Speaker whips last-minute votes
By Claire Withycombe and
Aubrey Wieber
Oregon Capital Bureau
The Oregon House of Represen-
tatives voted 31-29 on a bill to cut
retirement benefi ts for the state’s
public employees.
It was reform most seemed to
fi nd distasteful, regardless of party.
Democrats considering sup-
porting the bill risk losing cam-
paign dollars from public employee
unions. Republicans say the bill
kicks the can down the road by not
addressing the long-term issues
with the Public Employees Retire-
ment System, known as PERS.
In a rare circumstance, the votes
weren’t secured by the time the bill
hit the House fl oor.
As Speaker Tina Kotek contin-
ued to call on lawmakers, it became
clear the vote was in jeopardy. With
a 29-30 tally, Rep. Mitch Greenlick,
D-Portland, weighed his decision
for what felt like minutes. He then
voted against it.
Kotek, never one to give up eas-
ily, stood at ease rather than bang
her gavel to solidify the vote.
Then she went to work.
The sides of the fl oor fi lled with
staff and senators, as collective
breaths were held in anticipation.
About a half hour later, she
returned to the head of the cham-
ber, having whipped votes from
Greenlick and Rep. Andrea Sali-
nas, D-Lake Oswego. Salinas’ eyes
welled with tears as she walked off
the fl oor.
“I did not feel like this was the
right thing to do,” Salinas said later.
“I also didn’t think doing nothing
was the right thing to do.”
She felt the policy could have
been improved by looking at a sur-
plus in the state’s workers’ compen-
sation fund, selling certain assets or
increasing the amount of time the
state takes to pay down the debt.
Under the bill, employees could
see benefi ts generated by the sav-
ings plan drop by 7 percent to 12.5
Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek
percent, depending on when they
were hired and how much time they
have left until retirement.
That change would apply to
employees making $30,000 or more
— about 97 percent of employ-
ees hired before Aug. 29, 2003,
and about 90 percent of employees
hired after that.
And that change would cease
once the system is nearly fully
funded. It’s currently about 73 per-
cent funded, according to Oregon
PERS.
About 176,000 state employees
are members of PERS.
The bill would also cap the
amount of money that the state uses
to calculate each employee’s bene-
fi ts. Benefi ts are partially based on
a fi gure known as fi nal average sal-
ary, which, in simple terms, approx-
imates an employee’s annual salary
at retirement. That fi gure would be
limited at $195,000. In each gen-
eration of hires — there are three
— that change could reduce ben-
efi ts for a fraction of 1 percent of
workers.
Weeks ago, Senate Republicans
had staged a walkout, saying PERS
reform is needed before more
money is dedicated to education. A
deal was struck and they returned,
though all voted against an educa-
tion package. It passed on Demo-
cratic Sen. Betsy Johnson’s vote,
who said she would only support it
alongside PERS reform.
“I think the emotions in me
wanted to basically say to workers,
‘We’re not going to let the Senate
and their dysfunction take ahold of
the House,’” Salinas said. “I wanted
to give the big, Mr. Smith Goes To
Washington kind of speech: ‘That’s
not what I came here for.’ But ulti-
mately, I think the logical, pol-
icy side of me took over, and said,
okay, while this doesn’t feel right,
I do think it is right. And knowing
that I had 29 other members of my
party who were willing to make that
logical choice, I think, was what did
it for me too.”
Greenlick said he told Kotek he
would vote for the bill, but only if
needed. They met in private during
the break, after which Greenlick
returned and changed his vote.
“I hated doing it,” Greenlick said
after. “It was the hardest vote I’ve
taken in my whole career. I was
worried about the effect it has on
teachers. But I also think we needed
to do something. I would have been
happy to have it done without my
help.”
The state’s retirement plan has
two parts: a basic pension and a
savings account akin to a 401(k).
Lawmakers voted to reduce the
amount of money going to the sav-
ings account.
Under the plan, employees
would contribute the same amount
of money to their retirement, but
will end up with less money when
they retire.
Part of the money they cur-
rently contribute to the savings plan
would instead be going toward a
pension that they do not contribute
to right now.
The bill is designed to provide
some short-term relief to school
districts and local governments
throughout the state.
Cities, school districts and other
public entities are paying more each
year toward retirement benefi ts for
public employees.
Those increases are expected to
leap sharply in the next few years,
but the bill passed May 30 would
reduce increases by stretching out
the amount of time the state has to
pay down the debt — from 20 years
to 22 years. Republicans, who have
long railed against the costs of the
state’s retirement system, which is
bearing down on local governments
that have to pay more to retirement
every year, on May 30 changed
their tune.
Rep. Gary Leif, R-Roseburg,
spoke on the fl oor against the bill,
taking some talking points long
used by Democrats. He said he
liked some parts of the bill, but he
just couldn’t get all the way to sup-
porting it because it will “damage”
pensions that have already been
promised.
“Public employees work very
hard for our state,” Leif said.
“They’re our employees. They’re
our brothers and sisters.”
House Republicans overall were
reluctant to explain their votes.
When the bill passed the Senate, it
got the nod from three Republicans.
Rep. Cedric Hayden, R-Roseburg,
said his caucus was not told how
to vote, and all were opposed to the
PERS reform individually.
He specifi cally said it “doesn’t
address the long-term liability
debt.”
Hayden said about a quarter of
public employees are eligible for
retirement. He thinks this bill could
push more into retirement, there-
fore bringing new hires in without
addressing the root causes of the
unfunded liability. He’d rather see a
401(k) plan.
“While there is no perfect solu-
tion, we needed to address the ris-
ing rate costs that threaten pub-
lic employee jobs and critical
services,” Kotek said in a written
statement. “Reducing these rates
will result in real savings that will
give public employees long-term
protection for their retirement secu-
rity and maintain services that Ore-
gonians rely on.”
House Republican Leader Carl
Wilson of Grants Pass said the May
30 session was a “lesson in raw-
bone politics.”
He compared the bill to refi -
nancing a mortgage, which he said
was not a permanent solution to the
retirement system’s woes.
The courting of votes started
well before the afternoon fl oor ses-
sion. The bill was a tough sell from
the beginning. Rep. Jeff Barker,
D-Aloha, voted against it, but just
barely. He was in negotiations with
Kotek and Gov. Kate Brown before
the session. In exchange for his
vote, he wanted one bill dead and
two passed. He didn’t want to detail
the bills, but said there was “really
intense pressure” to vote for the
PERS bill, but Kotek and Brown
in the end didn’t give him what he
wanted.
Speculation began immediately
after Greenlick’s vote, with Cap-
itol insiders saying since he is not
running for another term, he’s safe
from the unions.
State Sen. Jackie Winters
Republican
state Sen.
Jackie
Winters dies
By Aubrey Wieber,
Claire Withycombe
and Mark Miller
Oregon Capital Bureau
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State Sen. Jackie Win-
ters, a Salem Republican
who spent decades in pub-
lic service, died May 29.
The solemn news was
delivered on the House
fl oor by Speaker Tina
Kotek, D-Portland, shortly
after 2:30 p.m. as law-
makers began receiving
an email announcing her
death .
Representatives stood
for a moment of silence to
remember Winters, who
was a force in the building,
known for her progressive
work on criminal justice
reform as well as a unifi er
in the Senate Republican
caucus.
“She was a pioneer-
ing woman in the Oregon
Legislature, a true histor-
ical fi gure,” said Senate
President Peter Courtney,
D-Salem.
The two worked closely
together for years. “I’ve
lost my partner in public
service. The Legislature
and Oregon has lost a ded-
icated servant. We’ve lost
the best of the best.”
Rep.
Mark
Meek,
D-Clackamas
County,
sang “Amazing Grace”
at the dais of the House
that afternoon. The Senate
was adjourned at the time.
Shortly after the announce-
ment, a readout board in the
Senate lit with a message
honoring her.
Winters, 82, was diag-
nosed with lung cancer in
2017. She last participated
in a Senate vote on April
18.
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