Working on Saturday, the State Government Committee forwarded on House Bill 1—essentially the governor’s bill providing pension relief to quasi-governmental agencies—on to the full House for a vote Monday.
Republican Representative Lynn Bechler of Marion says entities such as health departments, domestic violence shelters and regional universities will have to wait until next spring to determine if they want to remain in the state pension system or depart for an alternative option.
He says the April timeline is to be sure those agencies review potential comprehensive pension reform during the 2020 budget session before making such a large decision.
Bechler—who represents a portion of Christian and all of Caldwell, Crittenden and Livingston counties—says he will vote for House Bill 1 on Monday.
While local lawmakers agree the bill isn’t ideal in every way, they say a freeze in the pension contribution rate is necessary to prevent massive cuts in personnel and services by those agencies.