Fiscal Notes
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB3976, Committee Report 2nd House, Substituted: a negative impact of ($162,112,477) through the biennium ending August 31, 2019.
The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.
Vote Recommendation Notes
TRS-Care is a system in crisis which is quickly spiraling out of control. The current path of continuing to underfund the program is unsustainable - on this trajectory the program will collapse under its own weight in the not-too-distant future. To fully fund the program in its current form would be a far too costly burden to place on the taxpayers of this state. The only path forward to save the system then is to enact reform. This bill is an attempt at that needed reform.
While some provisions of this bill would be an improvement over the status quo, we are unable to determine whether this legislation would fix the program in the long term or simply delay the inevitable. For this reason we remain neutral.
On an additional note, we encourage the legislature to pursue reforms that transform public employee retirement systems to defined contribution plans for newer workers while keeping promises made to existing retirees, ensure full transparency, and prioritize local control.
