Pension Review Commission Act: Dangerous Abrogation of Power

Major problems: Creates a super-legislature by delegating lawmaking to an un-elected Commission. Creates a pathway for Commission-directed tax hikes without a vote of the legislature. If either the House Speaker or the Senate President does not call a disapproval vote, the bill becomes law. The chamber heads are required to certify it unless a joint...

Major problems:

• Creates a super-legislature by delegating lawmaking to an un-elected Commission.

• Creates a pathway for Commission-directed tax hikes without a vote of the legislature.

• If either the House Speaker or the Senate President does not call a disapproval vote, the bill becomes law. The chamber heads are required to certify it unless a joint resolution passes both chambers disapproving the measure.

• The legislature may only disapprove of the report in whole. No line item changes.

• It may violate separation of powers. Amendment 15 will require the governor to sign into law the changes recommended by the Pension Review Commission. Amendment 16 would make the Commission’s recommendations law without the governor’s signature.

• Commission members are seemingly appointed for life. There is no specified process by which to remove a member, nor for changing appointed representatives should the caucus leader change.

• Gives the Commission to the authority to set actuarial assumptions for each of the pensions systems.

Summary:

This bill creates the “Pension Review Commission” made up of 8 people. Each legislative leader appoints 2 members of their choosing. The Commission then determines what changes need to be made to bring the pension system funding up to 100 percent by 2045.

The Commission drafts a bill with the changes it deems necessary. Although the bill specifies factors the Commission can consider, the scope of their recommended changes is undefined and potentially unlimited. The resulting bill must be filed by April 30, 2013.

The General Assembly can disapprove those changes within 30 legislative days after the bill is filed.

If both chambers do not disapprove of the bill via a joint resolution, the Speaker and the Senate President are required to certify the bill and submit it to the governor. Under Amendment 15, the governor is required to sign the bill and enact it into law. Under Amendment 16, it becomes law without a signature.

The Commission can also file bills on April 30 and November 1 in future years to make additional necessary changes.