Agenda Archives
TPEA's Legislative Agenda for the 79th Legislature
I. TPEA believes state employees should receive at least a cost-of-living pay raise every year. State employees have received only three across-the-board raises in the past eleven years and employee pay is now, on average, 17 percent less than that generally paid for comparable work. In order to partially make up for this salary disparity TPEA supports increasing state employee pay by 4.5 percent, with an appropriate minimum monthly increase, in both years of the 2006-2007 biennium.
II. TPEA supports maintenance of current health insurance benefits for employees and retirees. Specifically, TPEA supports continuation of 100% of the premium paid by the state for employees and retired employees and 50% of the premium paid by the state for dependent coverage. TPEA will review alternative health care proposals, but will oppose increased health care costs unless employee compensation is increased to offset these costs.
III. TPEA supports ad hoc annuity increases for state retirees and the granting of 13th checks when it is actuarially sound to do so. TPEA also supports efforts to assure state retiree interests are equitably represented on the Board of Trustees of the Employees Retirement System (ERS).
IV. TPEA supports efficient delivery of state services. In order to ensure that taxpayers maintain their investment in the state workforce, TPEA supports legislation to prevent outsourcing or privatizing existing state jobs unless a significant cost savings can be demonstrated utilizing a full and fair cost comparison. Such legislation should require state contractors to provide health coverage to their employees or to include these costs in the comparison process.