MSPERS Reform passes Approps Committee- Awaits House Floor Action

The House Appropriations Committee passed their version of Senate Bill 1040 Thursday, legislation providing for significant reforms to the Michigan Public School Employee Retirement System (MPSERS). The measure passed on a straight 17-10 party line vote with Republicans supporting and Democrats opposing.

The vote followed significant debate this week, mostly with regard to how the reform will affect charter schools. The House’s intention is reportedly to pass the measure quickly to ensure the Governor is able to sign the reform along with the 2012-2013 budget bills.

With the latest version of the bill passed Thursday, teachers with a traditional pension that were hired prior to 2010 will be allowed to remain on a pension; however, they would be required to contribute more or see their multiplier decreased. The House also amended their version following the discussion with charter schools to allow charter schools to continue paying towards MPSERS unfunded liability based on payroll rather than operating expenditures.

The House and Senate versions differ significantly however, the agreed-upon budget targets included $130 million for MPSERS pre-funding, a sign of the direction of the ultimate agreement on reform.

posted by PAA Online , Friday, May 25, 2012 10:10 AM
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