Bartle happy with changes to state pensions

Sen. Matt Bartle, Lee's was not thrilled with the Ford/Claycomo bill, but the change to state pensions was just the right medicine to cure his ills. From his latest weekly report:

Though it stretched out far longer than expected, this year’s special session finally came to an end this week. To recap, the governor called lawmakers back to the Capitol to work on two issues: special tax breaks for certain manufacturing companies and their suppliers and state employee pension reform. The session dragged on as consensus was difficult to reach between the House and Senate and among individual lawmakers.


I was opposed to House Bill 2, better known as the Manufacturing Jobs Act, aimed primarily at the Ford automotive plant in Claycomo. The bill gives Ford and other qualified companies up to $15 million each year in tax breaks.

I am a supporter of lower taxes that are applied equally to all businesses. However, special tax breaks for the few have become increasingly popular in recent years, to the point that the state is forgoing a very significant chunk of revenue that could be used to fund essential state services. It is also important to note that as certain privileged businesses have their tax burden reduced, it tends to shift the tax burden to other businesses and individuals.

While I was opposed to the Ford bill, I am pleased we took steps to scale back the cost of government in a meaningful way with the passage of a pension reform bill. This bill, House Bill 1, is expected to save more than $600 million over 10 years by changing the pension plan for state employees hired on or after Jan. 1, 2011. Under the new plan, employees must contribute 4 percent of their pay to their own retirement, as well as reach age 67 and have at least 10 years of service for normal retirement (or reach age 55 with the sum of their age and service equaling at least 90). Under current law, state government workers pay nothing towards their pension and vest after five years of state service. It is important to note that these changes do not affect current state employees, as it would be unfair to go back on our promise to them.

On the whole, the result of this summer’s special session was positive. Although the governor and the legislature unwisely granted special tax treatment to one large company, meaningful pension reform was also passed. The net effect will be hundreds of millions of dollars in savings.