Concerted efforts to approve major legislation addressing legislative ethics and lobbying reform will keep the General Assembly in Raleigh for another week. The House and Senate are expected to wrap up this session and to adjourn by next Friday.
Governor Easley signed Senate Bill 1741 on Monday, approving the state’s budget for 2006-07. COLAs for retired state employees (3.0%) and retired local government employees (2.8%) will be included in the July pension payments.
Several bills of interest made progress this week and should receive approval before the General Assembly adjourns. These bills are summarized below.
Senate Bill 837: State Health Plan 20-Year Vesting
(Primary sponsor- Sen. Kerr)
The amended version of this bill was approved by the House on 3rd reading and returned to the Senate. A concurrence vote is scheduled in the Senate on Monday.
The amended bill changes the vesting period for post-retirement State Health Plan coverage from the current 5 years to 50% vesting at 10 years of service and full vesting at 20 years. These changes do not affect the State Health Plan benefits on any current state retirees or employees.
House Bill 853: Optional Retirement Program Changes
(Sponsor- Rep. Insko)
This bill allows members of the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System (TSERS) to purchase service time for periods in which they participated in the University System’s Optional Retirement Program. To qualify, a member must not be eligible to draw a benefit from the optional program, must have at least 5 years of service in TSERS, and must pay full actuarial cost for the service time.
The bill has been approved by the Senate and returned to the House for concurrence. The concurrence vote is scheduled for Monday.
