Pension Reform

The Nicholasville City Commission authorized Mayor Russ Meyer during Monday's special-called meeting to sign a resolution supporting reforms to the county employee retirement system (CERS) to make the plan sustainable in the future. The resolution stems from the state's unfunded pension system, which has been a hot topic during the 2013 General Assembly session in Frankfort. “This is in support of the (Kentucky League of Cities) resolution to our legislature on pension reforms,” Meyer said.

With only six legislative days remaining in the 2013 Regular Session, the chance for bills to be enacted into law during this short session is narrowing. Any bill that has not already passed the first house of the legislature is effectively dead for the 2013 Regular Session. Seven of the bills that I have sponsored have passed the House and are under consideration in the Senate. Public-pension reform moved closer to some sort of resolution in the House this week as the chamber approved its version of a pension overhaul bill.

On Friday, after a five-day special session of the Kentucky General Assembly, Gov. Steve Beshear signed legislation changing the pension plan for government employees. Details of the current proposal are widely seen as a give-and-take between public employees and administrators. While new public employees will have to work longer, it puts the state on a schedule to contribute to the retirement fund to make up for a current unfunded liability of more than $26 billion. To reach retirement with full-benefits, state employees will now have to work until their years of service and age add up to a total of 87 years.

State Sen. Tom Buford (R-Nicholasville) says he's proud of a trio of laws that went into effect Tuesday, but his opinion of the much-heralded pension reform bill is more of the ho-hum variety. As of Tuesday, and because of Senate Bill 120, it became illegal in the state of Kentucky for children under the age of 7 and 50 inches in height to ride in an automobile without the use of a booster seat. Buford said the booster seats raise small children high enough in their respective vehicles to protect them.

S&G Sanitation closed for New Year's Day S&G Sanitation will be closed Tuesday for New Year's Day. Those with Tuesday and Friday collection will have Friday collection only. Those with Tuesday collection will have collecition on Monday. Normal schedules will resume Wednesday. Correction An article in Friday's Winchester Sun incorrectly stated that State Rep. Donna Mayfield is in favor of cutting cost of living adjustments as part of state pension reform. Mayfield is not in favor of such a measure.

The next time I am running late for work, I think I'll try calling into the office and asking them to freeze the clock. Maybe I can do it tomorrow and just sleep in. A couple of extra hours of snooze time might be nice once in a while. Why couldn't I do that? After all, that's what our legislature did. Kentucky House Speaker Jody Richards and his feckless troops were able to miraculously, even if unconstitutionally, stop the clock in the waning hours of the last night of the legislative session.

If a workable agreement on pension reform can be reached between leaders in the Kentucky House of Representatives and the Senate, Gov. Steve Beshear says he will call a special session of the General Assembly for approval in late June. At a press conference May 29, Beshear proposed a pension reform plan that would save the state about $500 million and free up $50 million in savings for city and county workers along with school districts. For the savings to be realized at the local level, the proposal must be in place before the new fiscal year begins July 1. During the regular General Assembly session this spring, legislation aimed at reforming the state's pension plans was proposed but failed to pass the House when time ran out in the session.

Kentucky State House Representatives have much to tackle as they take on the 2013 General Assembly short session. Required redistricting that will split up Jessamine County and result in at least two House representatives for the county likely will be a major focus, while pension reform and possible amendments to the “Pill Mill” bill from last year also will likely be addressed, said state Rep. Bob Damron, D-Nicholasville.  Other concerns, such...

Imagine for a moment that you heard on the news that a meteor the size of New York City was careening toward the earth at break-neck speed. All of the headlines read that the bad news is inevitable. There is a 100 percent chance this meteor will strike the earth sometime in the next 25 years and when it does, it will destroy civilization as we know it. Now imagine that the scientists who've been charged with figuring out a way to save humanity are about to make an announcement. Full of hope and anticipation you listen from the edge of your seat as they say they have good news.

About two dozen people joined state Rep. Bob Damron, D-Nicholasville, and state Sen. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville, at a legislative breakfast Saturday as they discussed topics tackled by legislators during the short session of the general assembly. Pension reform, redistricting and health-care reform were the main topics discussed during the breakfast, held by the Jessamine County Chamber of Commerce at J.D. Legends. A plan proposed by the senate for pension reform, one of the major issues yet to be resolved by the legislature, is “a losing proposition,” Buford said.

With only six legislative days remaining in the 2013 Regular Session, the chance for bills to be enacted into law during this short session is narrowing. Any bill that has not already passed the first house of the legislature is effectively dead for the 2013 Regular Session. Seven of the bills that I have sponsored have passed the House and are under consideration in the Senate. Public-pension reform moved closer to some sort of resolution in the House this week as the chamber approved its version of a pension overhaul bill.

The Nicholasville City Commission authorized Mayor Russ Meyer during Monday's special-called meeting to sign a resolution supporting reforms to the county employee retirement system (CERS) to make the plan sustainable in the future. The resolution stems from the state's unfunded pension system, which has been a hot topic during the 2013 General Assembly session in Frankfort. “This is in support of the (Kentucky League of Cities) resolution to our legislature on pension reforms,” Meyer said.

Greetings and best wishes for a new year. A new year also marks a new season in your state capital. On Tuesday, the Senate convened for the 2013 30-day General Assembly session. The first week is traditionally an “organizational” week in which the respective caucuses choose their leaders and committee assignments are disbursed to the members. I was pleased to continue serving as the chairman of the banking and insurance committee. I will also be serving on appropriations and revenue committee; the health and welfare committee; licensing, occupations, and administrative regulations committee; the Medicaid oversight and advisory committee; and the program review and investigations committee.

Kentucky State House Representatives have much to tackle as they take on the 2013 General Assembly short session. Required redistricting that will split up Jessamine County and result in at least two House representatives for the county likely will be a major focus, while pension reform and possible amendments to the “Pill Mill” bill from last year also will likely be addressed, said state Rep. Bob Damron, D-Nicholasville.  Other concerns, such...

S&G Sanitation closed for New Year's Day S&G Sanitation will be closed Tuesday for New Year's Day. Those with Tuesday and Friday collection will have Friday collection only. Those with Tuesday collection will have collecition on Monday. Normal schedules will resume Wednesday. Correction An article in Friday's Winchester Sun incorrectly stated that State Rep. Donna Mayfield is in favor of cutting cost of living adjustments as part of state pension reform. Mayfield is not in favor of such a measure.

State Rep. Donna Mayfield, R-Winchester, will begin her second term in Frankfort Jan. 8, and she is optimistic about what can be accomplished this year, despite the short 30-day session. “I'd like to see us accomplish what we need to accomplish in the time we have,” Mayfield said. This term will be busy, with issues like redistricting, pension reform and tax reform likely to be on the agenda. On Dec. 17, the Blue Ribbon Tax Commission, formed earlier this year by Gov. Steve Beshear to look for inefficiencies in Kentucky's tax code and led by Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson, submitted its formal recommendations to the governor.

I told the Kentucky Public Pensions Task Force recently that its “patient” is not only very ill, but that its sudden decline should cause a level of angst not unlike that of a doctor whose patient comes to him with a stomach ache and suddenly goes into cardiac arrest. A recent series of Bluegrass Institute reports on the commonwealth's deteriorating pension crisis reveals how the state's unfunded pension liability went from less than $960 million - which most experts say is manageable - to nearly $34 billion in 2011.

Imagine for a moment that you heard on the news that a meteor the size of New York City was careening toward the earth at break-neck speed. All of the headlines read that the bad news is inevitable. There is a 100 percent chance this meteor will strike the earth sometime in the next 25 years and when it does, it will destroy civilization as we know it. Now imagine that the scientists who've been charged with figuring out a way to save humanity are about to make an announcement. Full of hope and anticipation you listen from the edge of your seat as they say they have good news.