KRTA LEGISLATIVE FINAL UPDATE
2016 GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Apr 11 – Apr 15, 2016
The General Assembly made the 2016 legislative session a roller coaster ride, regularly
alternating between optimism and despair. The Kentucky Constitution allows the General
Assembly to meet for a maximum of 60 days in even-numbered years, and the session must end
by April 15. The final day of the 2016 General Assembly was Friday, April 15.
The budget plan that lawmakers agreed to and officially approved in the Senate and House
before adjourning the 2106 legislative session shortly before midnight on Friday night represents
a mixture of Senate and House priorities and compromises where the chambers met in the middle
so that a budget could pass into law.
The approved budget can generally be described as one in which savings were sought wherever
possible so that more money could go toward shoring up the state’s troubled public pension
systems. In total, $1.284 billion in new funding is going toward pensions.
KTRS AND RETIRED TEACHER RELATED BILLS THAT DID PASS.
Budget. House Bill 303 will guide $21 billion worth of state spending over the next two fiscal
years. The two-year state budget plan is aimed at creating savings in many areas and using more
revenue to shore up public pension systems. The budget will pour $1.28 billion into the state
pension systems. KTRS will receive $973M towards the unfunded Annual Required
Contribution (ARC). The budget plan makes no cuts to K-12 education while authorizing the
governor’s plan to cut most state agency funding by nine percent over the biennium. State
spending will decrease by 4.5 percent for most public colleges and universities.
Pension oversight. House Bill 271 requires all state-administered retirement systems to report
specific information on their members or members’ beneficiaries to the state Public Pension
Oversight Board each fiscal year. The information is to be used by the board to plan for future
expenses and recommend changes to keep the retirement systems solvent.
Permanent Fund. House Bill 238 creates the “permanent fund” for public pensions funded in
the Executive Branch budget bill, or HB 303. It also sets out specific requirements for public
pension system reporting, including the requirement that an actuarial audit be performed on the
state-administered retirement systems once every five years.
KTRS AND RETIRED TEACHER RELATED BILLS THAT DID NOT PASS.
TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM (NELSON, R) AN ACT relating to survivor
benefits in the Kentucky Teachers' Retirement System. Removes marriage as a
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disqualifying event for a widow or widower that is receiving survivor’s benefits from
KTRS.
RETIREMENT (BOWEN, J) AN ACT relating to retirement. Requires more
SB2
transparency and accountability for the state pension systems, including fees and
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transactions with third party services. Provides for the appointment of additional
trustees by the governor. Bans use of placement agents and requires adherence to state
contract law.
PUBLIC RETIREMENT INFORMATION (MCDANIEL, C) AN ACT relating to
the disclosure of public retirement information. Requires the disclosure, upon request
of the retirement benefit information of current and former members of the General
Assembly and all state pension plans.
Bob Wagoner
Executive Director, KRTA