Tag: Georgia

Georgia House panel moves forward on bills to increase legislator pensions

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.ajc.com/politics/georgia-house-panel-moves-forward-on-bills-to-increase-legislator-pensions/YHVHOATJARA5FIGIM7KA2KTYLI/

Excerpt:

The state House Retirement Committee on Tuesday moved ahead on bills that could increase the pensions of part-time lawmakers up to 67% and at least triple what House Speaker David Ralston could receive.

The panel voted to do actuarial studies on three bills — all filed in the final days of the 2021 session. The studies — which essentially determine the cost of the bills — have to be completed before the committee can formally act on legislation during the 2022 session, which begins in January.

…..

Part of the reason lawmakers can look at raising their pensions is that the 54-year-old Legislature Retirement System — which provides benefits to retired legislators — currently has far more money in it than is required to pay current and future benefits. That’s in contrast to the much larger teacher and state employee pension systems, which are funded in the 70%-to-80% range.

The legislative system, like those for other employees, has been funded partially by payroll deductions and partially by the state. But in recent years it’s been in such good shape that officials said taxpayers didn’t have to add anything to the fund.

Author(s): James Salzer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Publication Date: 18 May 2021

Publication Site: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Why It’s Time for States to Raise Their Tobacco Taxes

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.governing.com/now/Why-Its-Time-for-States-to-Raise-Their-Tobacco-Taxes.html

Excerpt:

In the face of the pandemic, states across the geographic and political spectrum — including Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico and New York — are actively considering tobacco tax increases during their legislative sessions. Last month, a bipartisan supermajority in the Maryland Legislature moved to increase the state’s cigarette tax by $1.75 per pack, the first increase in nearly a decade, and to establish a tax on e-cigarettes to fund tobacco cessation and health programs.

The growing legislative momentum comes after voters in Colorado and Oregon approved tobacco tax increases in ballot measures last November. Colorado, which had not raised tobacco taxes in 16 years, will collect an estimated $175 million in revenue during the 2021-22 budget year for tobacco cessation and health programs. In Oregon, higher tobacco taxes will generate an estimated $160 million per year and help to fund the care of people with mental illnesses and other conditions.

Author(s): NANCY BROWN, AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION

Publication Date: 15 March 2021

Publication Site: Governing

Georgia’s $90 billion teacher pension system has seen big COVID recovery

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.ajc.com/politics/georgias-90-billion-teacher-pension-system-has-seen-big-covid-recovery/FWNDQPFBYVECRNO4GSF7AKVF2I/

Excerpt:

Next year’s state budget proposal includes an extra $66 million for Georgia’s massive teacher and university pension system to keep it on solid financial footing.

But after not meeting its assumed rate of investment return in fiscal 2020 — which ended June 30 — the more than $90 billion Teachers Retirement System has made a strong recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic, as did the investment markets it relies on to make sure it can pay pensions to 137,000 former educators.

A similar program that provides pensions to 50,000 state employees — the Employees Retirement System — saw a similar bounce back.

Buster Evans, executive director of the TRS and a former school superintendent, told a legislative retirement committee Tuesday that the teacher system saw a return on investments in 2020 of about 15%, which is pretty close to the return for the S&P 500-stock index.

“We are glad we had a V-shaped recovery,” Evans said.

That’s good news for a system relied on by more than 400,000 former and current educators to provide retirement benefits.

The system has had its ups and downs in recent years, with the state having to make huge contributions at times to keep the books in good shape. Those taxpayer contributions have prompted Republican lawmakers to raise the possibility of making changes to the pension programs, something teacher groups have fought off.

When the markets plummeted at the beginning of the pandemic, the system’s assets lost billions of dollars in value.

“There was a sick feeling in my stomach,” Evans told the TRS board last year.

But the TRS has ridden the wave of market gains since then.

Author: James Salzer

Publication Date: 3 February 2021

Publication Site: Atlanta Journal-Constitution