Too Little, Too Late

In contrast to Wayne’s legislation mentioned in the previous post, we have the sad attempt to buy the loyalty of teachers, state employees, retired teachers and state workers.

Do the retirement systems need the $50 million? Hell yes. But the hypocritical thing here is that these two guys have been complicit in the under funding of both systems for years. They have used the retirement systems like an ATM machine to fund pork barrel projects and maintain their own power.

HB 419 (BR 1388) - H. Moberly Jr, J. Richards AN ACT relating to the funding of public employee retirement systems, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring an emergency.

Amend 2006 Kentucky Acts Chapter 252, the state/executive branch budget bill, to appropriate an additional $25,000,000 for the Teachers' Retirement System Medical Insurance Fund; create the Retirement Contribution Supplement Pool in the Personnel Cabinet; appropriate $25,000,000 for this pool to implement new employer retirement contribution rates for the Kentucky Employees Retirement Systems and the State Police Retirement System from April 1, 2007, through June 30, 2007; require any general fund moneys directed to be appropriated by Part VII, General Fund Surplus Expenditure Plan, to the Kentucky Retirement Systems to be appropriated to the Kentucky Systems Insurance Fund; delete the Kentucky Retirement Systems and the Kentucky Teachers' Retirement System's medical insurance fund from the General Fund Surplus Expenditure plan; declare an emergency

If they really cared about this problem they would have done something about it years ago. This is like putting a band-aid on a severed artery.