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FRANKFORT, Ky. — Many members of the House Republican majority have concerns about the proposed pension reform bill and some changes will be made, House Speaker Jeff Hoover said Tuesday.
"It's clear we've got a lot of work to do to move forward on this issue," Hoover said Tuesday following a two-hour closed meeting of the House Republican Caucus. "... We have a lot of concerns. ... We're looking at moving forward and trying to address it in a more acceptable manner."
Hoover, R-Jamestown, said no head count was taken to see how many members of the caucus support the bill in its current form, and he said he did not know when Gov. Matt Bevin will call the special legislative session he has promised to adopt pension reform intended to stabilize state pension plans saddled with more than $40 billion in unfunded liabilities.
The speaker said House Republicans remain committed to doing all they can to passing a reform plan at a special session yet this year. But his comments, and those of House Majority Leader Jonathan Shell, R-Lancaster, made it clear House Republicans are hearing the outcry of concern from teachers, public employees and others about the plan Bevin released with Hoover and Senate President Robert Stivers on Oct. 18.
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"There will be changes. I'm not sure exactly what the changes will be or the degree of the changes," Hoover said. "We're listening to constituents, we're listening to the groups that are affected by this."
Shell said, "We want to get this right. We don't want to rush something, but we want to get it right."
Bevin has at times been critical, even combative, toward some critics of the plan. But Shell said, "We're not giving rhetoric to people. We're not calling people names. We're not doing those things. We're actually just trying to address this the right way."
Hoover said the House Republicans voiced concerns about many parts of the plan and he said the release of the 505-page bill that spelled out the plan on Friday added more concerns.
Many members were concerned about a provision that would require teachers and public employees to contribute 3 percent more for retiree health care. More than the pay cut to teachers and public workers, the bill shows that the move would not shore up those retiree health plans because the added contributions from teachers and employees would be offset by reduced contributions by their employers, according to the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy.
That, Hoover said, "was a surprise to many of us."
He also said some members are concerned about a part of the bill that would eliminate a requirement that school districts provide at least 10 paid sick days for teachers and other full-time school workers each year. "That's one of the discussion points that we had and we've got staff looking at some alternatives and some things with regard to sick days," Hoover said.
Still, Hoover said House Republicans remain committed to reforming the pension system and trying hard to pass those reforms in special session this year. "We are committed to working every single day to have a solution that provides a long-term foundation for our pension systems that will allow them to be sustainable and solvent in the years to come," he said.
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Shell said, "We all recognize we have a big problem as a state with the pension systems, but we also recognize that we have people that are in these systems that matter to all of us. And we want to be sure that we're doing what's right."
Bevin's communications director, Amanda Stamper, did not immediately respond to a request for a reaction to the comments of Hoover and Shell.
Bevin, as governor, has exclusive power to call a special legislative session. He has said all year he will call the session before the end of 2017 but has yet to do so. Hoover said Tuesday he did not know when the House's Republican majority would be in a position to pass a reform bill.
He said the House GOP caucus will meet again on Friday for more discussion of the bill.
Reporter Tom Loftus can be reached at 502-875-5136 or tloftus@courier-journal.com.
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