The following is a record of TPEA's past legislative efforts and its agenda for the future. To learn more, see our EMPACT section. Check out our advocacy section for ways to get involved beyond joining TPEA.

Agenda (archives)

The 82nd Legislature convened facing a $591 million budgetary shortfall to maintain health benefits for state employees, retirees and their families. ERS believed closing this budget gap would require employees and retirees to pay significantly more through insurance premium contributions or the imposition of large medical services deductibles, or both.

TPEA worked closely with legislative leaders to lower costs and increase funding for the ERS Group Benefit Plan. This allowed the state to maintain the current premium contribution structure and avoid the large cost shifts that had been predicted.

• State will continue to pay the full premium cost for full-time employees and retirees and half the cost for dependent coverage for the FY 2012-2013 biennium.
• If projected cost trends hold, there should be no increases in co-payments, deductibles or other out-of-pocket expenses.
• Medicare eligible retirees may have a choice to participate in a Medicare Advantage plan that could lower costs for spousal coverage.

Legislators used a three-pronged approach to close the ERS funding gap:

• The Legislature appropriated $215 million more than was in the base version of HB 1.
• Two new fees were statutorily authorized, a $30 per month tobacco user premium differential and an employer enrollment fee of one percent of payroll. These fees are projected to generate $200 million.

Cost savings efforts by ERS are projected to lower health care costs from 9.1 percent annually to 7 percent, saving $180 million. Cost savings efforts by ERS are projected to lower health care costs from 9.1 percent annually to 7 percent, saving $180 million.

• The Legislature appropriated $215 million more than was in the base version of HB 1.
• Two new fees were statutorily authorized, a $30 per month tobacco user premium differential and an employer enrollment fee of one percent of payroll. These fees are projected to generate $200 million.
• Cost savings efforts by ERS are projected to lower health care costs from 9.1 percent annually to 7 percent, saving $180 million.
  

Legislative leaders originally proposed cutting the state’s contribution to the ERS retirement fund to the Constitutional minimum of 6 percent, which would have lowered the employee contribution to the same level. Lowering the combined ERS contribution rate to 12 percent would have weakened the retirement fund and provided ammunition for opponents of traditional defined benefit retirement plans.

TPEA worked with legislative leaders to increase the state retirement contribution to 6.5 percent for FY 2013, and TPEA agreed to support maintaining the employee contribution at 6.5 percent for both FYs 2012 and 2013. The Legislature took similar actions to provide contributions for the LECOS fund for law enforcement and correctional staff.

• Stopped legislation to do away with state longevity pay.
• Blocked legislation to impose unpaid employee furloughs.
• Helped kill amendments to impose across the board salary reductions.
• Helped stop efforts to impose agency hiring freezes.
• Prevented passage of bills to change nature of our ERS retirement plan.
• Blocked legislation to create high deductible health plan with HSA.

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