“The time has come,” the walrus said, “to talk of many things: of shoes,
and ships-and sealing wax-of cabbages and kings.”
Lewis Carroll
The second year of the 68th Washington State Biennial Legislature has begun.
Given that this will be a “short” session, the pace will be brisk (an understatement). Numerous bills have been and will continue to be introduced. Some are good ideas; others are not, and some are just plain silly. Hearings have started.
A caveat: There are always more bills proposed than will survive the entire process. (Thank goodness!) With that in mind, below is a report and comments on selected bills that may or may not remain as the session unfolds. The point is that until hearings on selected bills are scheduled, most are just titles and text with no explanations or fiscal notes. As these become available, more detail will be presented in this report.
Also, some bills have companion bills from the opposite house. If the companion is not also scheduled for a hearing, it is assumed that the bill scheduled will be the vehicle. See some notes below.
Retirement Related Proposals
General Comment: The unfunded pension liability (UAAL) in the TRS/PERS Plans 1 is due to lessen in the 2025-27 Biennium. That will result in $300+ million in savings for the state. School districts are currently paying pension surcharges in addition to the regular pension contributions. These surcharges will be substantially reduced under a timeline proposed by OFM and proposed legislation, saving the districts dollars they must allocate, particularly for excess staff not funded by the state. Cities and counties will also save money. Eventually, the surcharge will be zero, and all that will be left may be a result of benefit improvements. The reduced, projected contribution rates can vary as well. Exactly when this happens is subject to both investment returns and actual experience. For example, the current estimated contribution rate for PERS 1 for 2025 is 6.36%, and the surcharge is an additional 2.47%. For 2025-27, the rates change to 5.83% and 1.47%, and for 2027-2029; 4.85% and 0.92%.
HB 1985: Providing a benefit increase to certain retirees of the public employees’ retirement system plan 1 and the teachers’ retirement system plan 1.
Sponsors: Timmons, Leavitt, Fitzgibbon, Ryu, Ramos, Ramel, Bateman, Ormsby, Jacobsen, Callan, Rule, Kloba, Street, Doglio, Fosse, Paul, Bergquist, Goodman, Ortiz-Self, Lekanoff, Reeves, Nance, Riccelli, Hackney, Pollet, Shavers
By Request: Select Committee on Pension Policy (SCPP)
Comment: This bill would provide an ad-hoc 3% increase in 2024 not to exceed $125/month for TRS1/PERS1 Plan retirees. This is an increase in the ad-hoc COLA approved last session for paid in 2023. The SCPP was unanimous in recommending this second year COLA. A reminder that during the 2024 interim, the SCPP will study and recommend a permanent ongoing cost-of-living adjustment for beneficiaries of the public employees’ retirement system plan 1 and the teachers’ retirement 2 system plan 1.
It is scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Appropriations at 4:00 PM, Jan. 15th.
