The Colorado House of Representatives on Thursday amended a pension-reform bill to make it more amenable to Gov. Bill Owens, but legislators didn’t go far enough.
“We are not there yet,” said Dan Hopkins, the governor’s spokesman. “The governor has received assurances that this will wind up in a conference committee.”
The Public Employees Retirement Association, with 380,000 members the state’s largest pension plan, faces an $11.3 billion shortfall, and the governor has threatened to call a special session if reforms aren’t implemented.
Although most factions agree on how to bridge the shortfall, a split remains on how the association should be governed, even with changes made Thursday.
The current PERA board has 16 members, including the state treasurer and auditor.
An amendment to Senate Bill 235 reduced the size of PERA’s board of trustees from an initially proposed 20 to 15, with three seats appointed by the governor.
An earlier reform bill the governor supported reduced the board to nine spots, with four seats appointed by the governor.
Critics of the current PERA board structure argue that it is unwieldy and conflicted.
“We have 14 members there on behalf of the beneficiaries and two people speaking on behalf of the taxpayers,” said Rep. Ted Harvey, R-Douglas County.
Board members would be more inclined to recommend benefit increases and lower employee-contribution levels over time, he said.
Backers of a larger board argue it is needed to represent the various employee groups covered by different trust funds within PERA, as well as retirees.
“They are not one group. We need to make sure that all of the interest groups have the opportunity to be represented,” said Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction.
