Pensions

• GOP-Controlled Wisconsin Legislature Targets Milwaukee
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Wisconsin   |   May 13, 2013
• Recent moves by the republican-controlled legislature that could hurt the city's finances has raised speculation that it being targeted as part of a political vendetta.
• 6 Comments

• Illinois Looking to Stop Outsider Access to Pension System
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Illinois   |   May 7, 2013
• No longer just concerned with saving the state's underfunded pension system money, reform efforts now seek to stop allowing interlopers who aren't state workers into the taxpayer-supported retirement systems.
• 1 Comments

• Florida Pension Reform Bill Fails
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Florida   |   May 1, 2013
• A pension reform bill that would have moved new state workers and teachers into a 401K plan and blocked them from enrolling in the state pension system, failed in the Florida senate. Several Republicans joined the Democratic minority to defeat the measure 22-18.
• 1 Comments

• Retiree Health-Care Benefits: The Next Shoe to Drop?
• BY: Liz Farmer   |   April 22, 2013
• The rising cost of health care for retirees may force states and localities to make wholesale changes to their pension health plans.
• 6 Comments

• Has Pension Reform Gone Too Far?
• BY: Liz Farmer   |   April 19, 2013
• Faced with growing pension gaps, states and localities in recent years have reacted with sweeping reforms.
• 11 Comments

• Public Workers, Secret Pensions
• BY: Charles Chieppo   |   April 18, 2013
• Under an unusual arrangement dating back to 1948, information about the Boston-area transit agency's pension system doesn't have to be made public. That may soon change, and it ought to.
• 3 Comments

• Moody's New Rules May Mean More Downgrades
• BY: Liz Farmer   |   Nation   |   April 17, 2013
• Moody’s Investors Service announced its highly anticipated new ratings rules, which could result in downgrades for dozens of cities and school districts.
• 1 Comments

• Christie Vetoes Union Labor Bill
• Source: Newark Star-Ledger   |   New Jersey   |   April 17, 2013
• Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill that would have allowed towns to hire all-union workers to rebuild key pieces of infrastructure in the wake of Hurricane Sandy under project labor agreements.

• Unions Seek New Ways to Combat Declining Membership
• BY: Stateline   |   Nation   |   April 15, 2013
• No longer in denial about its dwindling numbers and diminished political power, organized labor unions are exploring new, potentially risky approaches for growing their memberships.
• 6 Comments

• New Jersey's 2011 Pension Reform Spurs Savings
• Source: Newark Star-Ledger   |   New Jersey   |   April 15, 2013
• While local pension costs will grow in the new state budget, the bill would be $540 million higher without reforms that forced public employees to pick up a greater share of the pension costs and stopped cost of living adjustment for retirees.
• 1 Comments

• Fitch: Kentucky's Pension Reform Still Has Uncertainty
• BY: Liz Farmer   |   Kentucky   |   April 12, 2013
• Kentucky’s pension reform signed into law this month marks a positive step but should not be heralded as a cure-all to the state’s massive underfunding problem, a major ratings agency said Friday.
• 1 Comments

• Is a Lieutenant Governor Necessary? Illinois Doesn't Think So.
• Source: Chicago Tribune   |   Illinois   |   April 12, 2013
• The Illinois House approved a measure that would ask voters whether to eliminate the job of lieutenant governor. The bill's sponsor says the job is a "luxury" that the cash-strapped state cannot afford.
• 2 Comments

• Tennessee Forcing Its IT Workers to Re-Apply for Their Jobs
• Source: Tennessean   |   Tennessee   |   April 11, 2013
• Gov. Bill Haslam’s administration is forcing 1,600 information technology workers across state government to re-apply for their jobs in an effort to screen out those who can’t master the skills of a rapidly changing field.

• Washington Targets Veterans for State Employment
• BY: Heather Kerrigan   |   April 10, 2013
• As troops begin returning home from Afghanistan, states are looking for ways to reduce veterans' high unemployment rate. Washington state wants to hire them.
• 2 Comments