Budget Hearings Underway
This marks the third week of budget hearings in the Texas Senate as the Finance Committee works its way through Senate Bill 1, the Appropriations Bill. Senate Finance Committee members heard from all of the Health and Human Services Departments, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and many of the states’ Higher Education Institutions during the initial two weeks of hearings.
Next up, Senate Finance will hear from the Employees Retirement System (ERS), who is scheduled to go before the committee on March 2nd. ERS oversees the health care plan and retirement for both current and retired state employees. TPEA plans to testify before the committee in opposition to the changes to the health care plan and the state’s contribution to the retirement plan.
After the initial round of hearings on the state budget, Senate Finance will break into working groups to dig deeper into the state budget and make recommendations back to the committee before sending it to the full Senate for a vote.
On the House side, the process is a little different. Texas Speaker Joe Straus appointed committees just last week, but the committees, including House Appropriations, almost immediately broke up into subcommittees and began their hearings this week. ERS was heard before the Article I subcommittee on February 15th. TPEA’s Director of Government Relations, Andy Homer, testified before the committee and laid out TPEA’s opposition to the proposed budget which would continue the pattern of shifting health care costs onto state employees and retirees and reduces the state contribution to the retirement fund.
You can go to the link below and view the testimony. You must have Real Player downloaded on your computer in order to view the testimony. TPEA recommends that you do not view this on your state computer.
http://www.tpea.org/comm_video.html
ACTION ALERT: Ask Legislators to Maintain Health Care Benefits
It is time for you to use your voice and contact members of the House Subcommittee overseeing ERS’ Budget. You can contact these legislators by calling their office or by emailing them. TPEA recommends using the following language:
“I’m a state employee/retired employee and a member of the Texas Public Employees Association. I’m calling to ask Representative _________________ to work with the TPEA to find the funding to maintain our health care benefits and increase the state’s contribution to our retirement system.”
- Remember to be respectful at all times.
Below are the members of the committee along with their contact information:
Subcommittee Chairman: Rep. John Otto (R – Dayton)
Phone #: 512-463-0570
Rep. Angie Chen Button (R – Garland)
Phone #: 512-463-0486
Rep. Dee Margo (R – El Paso)
Phone #: 512-463-0728
Rep. Armando “Mando” Martinez (D – Welasco)
Phone #: 512-463-0530
Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon (D – San Antonio)
Phone #: 512-463-0708
Rep. Mark Shelton (R – Fort Worth)
Phone #: 512-463-0608
Support Brian Ragland in ERS Trustee Election
The election for the open ERS Trustee position this spring will have 5 candidates. Of the five, TPEA has endorsed Brian Ragland because his financial and management skills. He will be an excellent representative for state employees on the ERS board. Voting will begin in early March.