House Appropriations, Pensions & Investments to Conduct Joint Study of ERS Retirement Trust

House Speaker Dennis Bonnen has charged the House Appropriations Committee and Committee on Pensions, Investments & Financial Services to review and evaluate the actuarial soundness of the Employees Retirement System. The committees shall examine the cost and potential strategies for achieving and maintaining actuarial soundness, the effect of unfunded liabilities on the state’s credit rating, and the state’s investment policies and practices, including investment objectives, targets, disclosure policies, and transparency. In addition, the Speaker charged Appropriations with examining the cost of state employee turnover on the state budget and reviewing the impact of targeted salary increases, particularly at HHS and TDCJ. The committees will conduct hearings on these and other charges next year and report back to the Legislature when it convenes in January, 2021.

The Texas Public Employees Association (TPEA) is proud to announce that Ann Bishop has agreed to become its next Executive Director. Bishop succeeds Gary Anderson, who is retiring at the end of the year after 21 years at the helm of the organization.

Bishop has served in a number of capacities in Texas state government. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and Texas Tech University School of Law, Bishop served as Deputy Comptroller of Public Accounts before becoming the first executive director of the Texas Department of Information Resources, created by the Legislature in 1989. In 2004, the Employees Retirement System of Texas selected Bishop to lead the agency as its executive director. Aside from a brief stint as Chief of Staff to former Governor Rick Perry in 2012 and 2013, Bishop served ERS with distinction until her retirement from the agency in 2015. She also has significant experience in the private sector in management and technology consulting. 

The TPEA Board of Directors conducted a five-month search process and unanimously agreed that Bishop has the ideal combination of knowledge, background, and experience to be an effective advocate for public employees before the Legislature and executive agencies. Bishop will officially join TPEA on December 5.

“Ann Bishop is no stranger to the serious challenges facing active and retired public employees in this state, particularly with respect to compensation and the actuarial soundness of ERS,” said Gilbert Jordan, President of the TPEA Board of Directors. “We are extremely fortunate to have a person of Ann’s broad experience and long record of distinguished public service advocating on behalf of our members at this critical time and leading us into the future. We look forward to getting Ann on board and preparing for the 2021 legislative session.”

Retiring TPEA executive director, Gary Anderson, joined the organization in 1999 after almost two decades of managing legislative policy and advocacy on behalf of business associations. Under Anderson’s watch, TPEA has dedicated its efforts to three priorities: keeping state salaries competitive with the private sector, ensuring the actuarial soundness of the ERS Trust Fund, and maintaining quality health insurance benefits. During his tenure, the Legislature raised state employee compensation no fewer than eight times. Moreover, Anderson leaves TPEA in a much stronger financial and legislative position than he found it. While other associations have struggled in tight economic times, Anderson has placed TPEA on a permanent footing of financial stability without significantly raising membership dues. At the same time, he has made substantial improvements to TPEA's legislative and communications capabilities in an era of rapid changes in the political landscape.

“On behalf of the TPEA Board of Directors and membership, I want to express our deepest gratitude to Gary for his long and distinguished service to our organization,” said Gilbert Jordan. “Public employees owe him a debt of gratitude for his tireless work to expand the influence of our organization in the Capitol, grow TPEA membership, and establish a sound financial foundation for the future. His wisdom, humor, and leadership will be missed, and we wish him nothing but the best in the next phase of his life.”

Please join us in congratulating Gary Anderson on his retirement and welcoming Ann Bishop to the organization.

News Regarding Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen

After censure by the House Republican Caucus and calls for his resignation from more than 30 of his GOP House colleagues, Speaker Bonnen announced that he will not seek re-election to the House next year. Given the deteriorating situation since the release of a recorded conversation between Speaker Bonnen, then-House Republican Caucus chair Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock), and Empower Texans activist Michael Quinn Sullivan, the Speaker’s announcement comes as no surprise. It remains to be seen, however, whether the Speaker will step down from the Office of Speaker before next session. One possibility is that the Speaker could appoint a Republican member as Speaker Pro Tem (currently a Democrat, Rep. Joe Moody of El Paso), who would serve out the rest of the interim and perform the ministerial duties of the office until the newly elected House convenes in January, 2021.

For more details about the story, see:
https://www.texastribune.org/2019/10/22/dennis-bonnen-retire-secret-recording/
https://www.texastribune.org/2019/10/22/Dennis-Bonnen-to-not-seek-reelection-to-Texas-House/
https://www.texastribune.org/2019/10/22/bonnen-lame-duck-speaker-interim-charges-redistricting/

Transcript of Recorded Conversation Regarding Dues Checkoff Legislation

You may have heard that the dues checkoff issue came up in the recorded conversation between Speaker Bonnen, Representative Burrows, and Michael Quinn Sullivan that was released to the public earlier this week. The tape captures Rep. Burrows and Sullivan discussing the partisan political benefits of a bill and a possible legislative strategy for bringing it to a vote in the House next session. This conversation shows that the issue hasn’t gone away and remains a priority for Empower Texans and their allies. 

MICHAEL QUINN SULLIVAN:· Yes. On the economic side, yes. On the political side, I would put ending funding for union dues. The government collection of union dues. Only because, you know, a good reading of Sun Tzu notes the first thing you do is cut off your enemy's supply lines. 98 percent of union money goes to Democrats. You can justify, with a straight nonpolitical face, not having government fund the collection of union dues.
 
DUSTIN BURROWS:· We get the Republicans on the floor can -- well, see the problem we get into -- and I found this out -- I almost didn't have the votes to pass the bill because the teachers' unions being against it, which was scary. You get a couple of the Pub Ed Republicans, and then they get scared of the fire, police stuff. I'm not saying it can't be done. 
 
MICHAEL QUINN SULLIVAN:· That's the problem you have is that why are you guys scared of the public teacher unions, the fire and police it's because-
 
DUSTIN BURROWS:· We just have to put it on the floor like we did. Here's the thing: It's also a two-cycle process. If you can get taxpayer funded lobby. Now we have the threshold requirement, now, that some of it should be out there being made public. Most people don't understand what the hell taxpayer funded lobbying does. They don't know it's being used against police, fire, taxpayers everything else. Trying to expose it and build a case will make a difference to getting it passed next session. Union dues may be the same type of then you just have to flop it, get a test vote out of it, you know, and then push the narrative or try to push the narrative in between, to get that done. 
 
MICHAEL QUINN SULLIVAN: Yeah.

SSB Investor Alert: Private Oil and Gas Offerings

Oil and gas private offerings are speculative, complex, and packed with jargon only experts can decipher. Read the Texas State Securities Board Investor Alert:
https://www.ssb.texas.gov/news-publications/investor-alert-private-oil-and-gas-offerings

Median public pension plan investment return assumption falls to 7.25 percent

The National Association of State Retirement Administrators (NASRA) reports that since 2009, the median contribution rate paid by public employees to state retirement systems has increased by 20% (5.0% to 6.0%).
During this period, at least 35 states, including Texas, have increased contribution rates. NASRA also notes that a number of states have introduced risk-sharing into their pension plans, whereby employees contribute at variable rates depending on the pension fund’s actuarial condition, the plan’s cost, or the amount of employer’s contribution.
NASRA also observes that public employers are turning to hybrid plans that shift more employee contributions into the defined contribution part of the plan. The trend toward allocating more of the risk of plan performance to employees may be expected to continue as state pension funds face mounting challenges with long-term plan solvency and cash-strapped state legislatures. For more information, check out NASRA’s website at https://www.nasra.org/.

One Dallas Adviser Suspended, A Second Ordered to Repay Commissions

Texas Securities Commissioner Travis J. Iles on June 6 sanctioned two Dallas-area investment adviser representatives for selling unsuitable investments to clients. Read more.

Statement by Gary Anderson, Executive Director.

In the wake of the 86th Legislative Session, state employees have every right to be angry and frustrated with the Legislature’s continuing neglect of its own workforce. Out of a $250 billion budget (a 16% increase over the current biennium), lawmakers found over $11 billion, including tapping funds from the Rainy Day Fund, to provide the employees of the state’s independent school districts and state judges substantial salary increases. However, their failure to identify adequate resources to grant a modest and long overdue salary increase for their own state agency employees is both stunning and deplorable. Some legislative leaders have attempted to rationalize their actions, citing consideration was given to some agency personnel on a “targeted basis,” and these raises are welcome. However, to use that rationale as a defense of such disproportionate funding would be laughable if the disparity was not so gross in every sense of the word.

Brian Barth Elected to ERS Board of Trustees

The results are in! Brian Barth, Director of Project Planning and Development for the Texas Department of Transportation, has been elected to a six-year term on the ERS Board of Trustees. TPEA’s Board of Directors unanimously endorsed Brian for election at the commencement of the campaign earlier in the year. His term will commence on September 1, 2019 and run through August 31, 2025.
 
Brian was elected with 50.5% of the vote to Cora Bennett’s 49.5%. He received 17,019 votes out of 33,723 votes cast. The total number of votes represents 9.51% of ERS’s 355,690 eligible voters. While Ms. Bennett polled about 900 more paper ballot votes, Brian comfortably won the web ballot count by more than 1,200 votes, giving him a final margin of 315 votes. Brian also won a majority of both the annuitant and contributor votes, while Ms. Bennett took a majority of the non-contributor ballots. Brian polled particularly strongly in TXDOT and ERS, offsetting Ms. Bennett’s advantage in smaller agencies, HHSC, and DFPS.
 
TPEA members contributed heavily to Brian’s margin in web ballots, which proved decisive in the race. ERS Board elections typically draw about a 10% turnout, and this election was no exception. We deeply appreciate our members turning out for Brian - your vote made the whole difference!

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TPEA’s 1 for $10 New Member Recruitment Program

EVERY new member recruited gets you a $10 gift card for:
Amazon, Walmart, Target, Starbucks, Academy, Whataburger, or TJ Maxx/Marshall’s/HomeGoods

Each new member you recruit will have the chance to win a $10 gift card in our monthly New Member Drawings! AND each new member puts you in the entry for a monthly drawing for a $100 Amazon.com gift card!
No prize limit, prizes awarded the first of every month

To receive credit for the members you recruit, ask each new member to write your name on their paper membership application or to list you in the “Sponsor” field on the online membership application. Download printable applications at www.tpea.org/1for10, or direct potential members to the TPEA website. Questions? Call (888) FOR-TPEA (367-8732) or email membership@tpea.org

TPEA Recruiters of the Year

TPEA recognizes Tristan Conner and Thomas Pierce for their outstanding efforts recruiting on behalf of the association in the last year with the TPEA Recruiter of the Year award.

Congratulations to our 2019 scholarship winner, Wesley Crockett

This year’s recipient of the Liberty Mutual Insurance/TPEA Scholarship is Wesley Crockett from Rusk, Texas. Wesley’s application was sponsored by Charlene Crockett. Charlene is an employee at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Read more about Wesley.