Gov. Bill Ritter on Tuesday signed a bill that cuts state employee retiree benefits to prevent the pension system from going broke, The Denver Post reports. Ritter said the cuts are difficult but necessary. Provisions in the bill require shared sacrifices and shared solutions from public employers and employees without imposing an unfair or undue burden, he said.

In other coverage:

Pueblo Chieftain: Nobody loves the changes coming to Colorado’s public employees’ pension plan, but nonetheless here they come because Gov. Bill Ritter signed them into law Tuesday. The Democrats and Republicans who teamed up to author SB1 concede it’s not ideal from their parties’ perspectives, and enrollees in the Public Employees Retirement Association like it even less.

The Durango Herald: Gov. Bill Ritter on Tuesday signed into law a rescue plan for the pension system used by school and government employees. Retirees will see the first effect as soon as next month. The March checks will limit cost-of-living increases to 2 percent. Before Tuesday, the Public Employees Retirement Association paid 3.5 percent annual cost-of-living increases.

Associated Press: Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter has signed a bill that cuts state employee retiree benefits to prevent the pension system from going broke.

Radical changes to the pension fund for public employees were approved by the House on Tuesday, clearing the final hurdle in the Legislature, The Pueblo Chieftain reports. Crafted through bipartisan compromise between Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, and Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, SB1 is considered less than ideal by Democrats, Republicans and, most of all, the 450,000 working and retired government employees enrolled in the Public Employees Retirement Association.

With a March 1 deadline fast approaching, the House Finance Committee Wednesday night gave its blessing to Senate Bill 1, the bill to bring the pension plan of the Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA) to full funded status, The Colorado Statesman reports. The 8-3 vote had the support of the committee’s six Democrats as well as Rep. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, and Rep. Ken Summers, R-Lakewood.

A bill that would reduce retirement benefits for government employees is scheduled to be heard today by a House committee, The Denver Post reports. Supporters said changes are necessary or the Public Employees’ Retirement Association will become insolvent.
It’s the only bill before the House Finance Committee, which meets at 1:30 p.m. in the legislative services building just across from the Capitol on 14th Street

Senate Bill 1, the top priority of Senate President Brandon Shaffer, received final approval from the Senate on Monday and will be heard in the House next Wednesday, The Colorado Statesman reports. SB 1 modifies the Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA) pension plan to help it reach solvency in less than 30 years. Currently, PERA’s board of trustees project the fund will be out of money in as little as 26 years.

By Todd Engdahl, EDUCATION NEWS COLORADO

The Senate Monday morning voted 25-10 to pass Senate Bill 10-001, the measure intended to restore the Public Employees’ Retirement Association to solvency over the next 30 years.

Public Employees’ Retirement Association headquarters in Denver.

The bill is of vital interest to the education community, given that PERA covers all Colorado school teachers and classified staff and thousands of college and university employees.

While some critics of the bill have attacked it as unfair to retirees or complained that it doesn’t go far enough, during preliminary discussion Friday senators rejected all  major attempts to amend it and passed it on a voice vote.

That was expected, given that all 21 Democratic and three Republicans were cosponsors. The prime sponsors are Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Boulder, and Minority Leader Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction.

The bill is built on a detailed proposal unveiled by PERA last autumn and was amended Tuesday by the Senate Finance Committee largely to reflect concerns raised by a coalition of employee and retiree groups, including the Colorado Education Association. (See this story for background on that meeting and the amendments.)

The loudest grassroots opposition to the bill has been to the proposal, somewhat tweaked by the amendment, to cut retiree annual cost of livings increases from 3.5 percent a year to 2 percent, regardless of the actual rate of inflation.

Sen. Keith King, R-Colorado Springs

Sen. Keith King, R-Colorado Springs, has emerged as the leading critic of the bill among a small group of Senate Republicans who oppose it.

King believes the bill is “too rich” and won’t provide a permanent fix. In two committees and on the floor King has proposed unsuccessful amendments to require a defined contribution option much like a 401(k) be offered, change calculation of a retiree’s benefits, ban the practice of workers buying additional years of service and make other ch

The bill nowmoves to the House, where many of the sa me debates likely will be repeated.

Democratic leaders hope to get the bill passed and signed by March 1 to avoid PERA having to pay the 3.5 percent 2010 COLA that’s due to kick in on that date.

The House Friday afternoon was doing preliminary debate on the package of controversial tax rebate repeal bills. The leadership also hopes to push those through by March 1 so some of the revenue can be used to help balance the 2009-10 state budget.

Advocates say failure to raise that revenue would require further cuts in state aid to K-12 schools.

Use the Education Bill Tracker for links to bill texts and status information.

Lawmakers will take a final vote today on a measure that reduces cost-of-living benefits, raises the retirement age and increases contributions to Colorado’s pension fund, The Denver Post reports. Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, and Minority Leader Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, have worked for six months on Senate Bill 1, a plan to rescue the Public Employees’ Retirement Association, which has nearly $30 billion in unfunded liabilities.

STATE BILL COLORADO
Here’s how Colorado news organizations on Tuesday covered SB10-001.

The Pueblo Chieftain: Reluctantly, groups and individuals with a stake in the debate over who will pay to fix the ailing public employees’ pension fund conceded something must be done. Also grudgingly, lawmakers reached compromises to move forward a bill aimed at stabilizing the PERA pension fund. Two amendments were added to SB1 before it was passed by the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday by a vote of 5-2.

KDVR: One Republican, Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, joined four Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee in approving Senate Bill 1 on a 5-2 vote. Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, R-Fruita, is co-sponsoring the bill along with Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont. Penry called the proposal “an imperfect plan that achieves an important outcome, that is solving, over 30 years, the largest fiscal liability facing the state of Colorado.”

TheDenverChannel.com: Dozens of retirees packed the Old Supreme Court Chambers to air their frustrations with PERA’s problems and the proposed solutions. Many said they understand the need to make changes, but others spoke out against those changes and raised the specter of a legal challenge.

AP: Warning that there will be a lot of shared pain, Colorado lawmakers gave initial approval Tuesday to a plan to rescue the state’s pension system that increases contributions from employees and employers and reduces benefits. The Senate Finance Committee approved the plan after sponsors said without changes, it could run out of money in 20 years.

Education News Colorado: The hearing provided an interesting contrast in views, with established public employee groups testifying in favor of the plan while many individual retirees opposed it. (More than 40 witnesses signed up to testify.)

The Denver Post: “Frankly, we should go further than we have,” said Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction.

Warning that there will be a lot of shared pain, Colorado lawmakers gave initial approval Tuesday to a plan to rescue the state’s pension system that increases contributions from employees and employers and reduces benefits, AP reports. The Senate Finance Committee approved the plan after sponsors said without changes, it could run out of money in 20 years.