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Committee raises accident-report fee to fund improved State Police Tier 2 retirement benefits
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Summary
The joint committee passed House Bill 13 36 as amended, increasing a public crash-report fee from $10 to $25 for non-involved requesters and routing part of the revenue to narrow a benefit gap between State Police Tier 1 and Tier 2 retirement plans, mainly to improve DROP benefits for Tier 2 officers.
The joint Public Retirement & Social Security Programs committee voted to pass House Bill 13 36 as amended, which raises the fee for police accident reports for third-party requesters and dedicates most of the additional revenue to closing a benefit gap in the Arkansas State Police retirement system.
The amendment increases the charge for accident reports from $10 to $25 for requesters other than persons involved in the crash; people directly involved in the crash will still be able to obtain reports for $10. Representative Les Warren, the bill sponsor, said the extra revenue will be used to improve Tier 2 DROP (deferred retirement option plan) benefits for commission troopers.
“This is a step that I believe is long overdue,” Representative Les Warren said. “We need to at least make a step in the direction of improving Tier 2 retirement for our state police.”
Why it matters: State Police retirement is split between Tier 1 (employees hired before July 1, 1997) and Tier 2 (those hired on or after that date). Committee actuary Jody Carrero told members the amended proposal was scaled back so the fee revenue would cover the added cost and pay off the increased unfunded liability in a short period. “The fees that will be generated will in a sense pay the additional unfunded that would be generated will be paid off in about 3 years,” Carrero said.
The committee’s actuarial materials presented two key figures: an estimated increase in system expense (reported in discussion as about $4.2 million under the amendment) and projected fee revenue of roughly $1.9–2.0 million per year from the higher report charges. Committee discussion noted the annual employer contribution would rise as a level percent of payroll, but the fee revenue is expected to retire the added liability faster than the statutory amortization schedule.
State Police and APERS officials described the practical mechanics. Amy Fetscher, director of the Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System, confirmed the increase is intended to shift funding for the selected benefit change to non-state payers who regularly buy reports (insurance companies, attorneys, medical billers): committee testimony said about 97% of report purchases are by third-party entities. Colonel Mike Hagar, Secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Director of State Police, described the split retirement systems and the disparity that the bill aims to reduce.
Committee members discussed potential downstream effects: improving Tier 2 DROP benefits could prompt inquiries from members of other systems about parity, and the changes increase the system’s annual normal cost. Supporters emphasized that the amendment was intentionally narrowed so the fee would cover the added costs without relying on general revenue.
The committee adopted the amendment and then passed the bill as amended.
Votes at a glance: The transcript records a motion and second and a voice vote in committee; specific yes/no tallies were not provided in the transcript.
Ending note: Sponsors and the actuary framed the change as a targeted, revenue-neutral (to the state general fund) step to strengthen a lower-funded portion of the State Police plan while minimizing budgetary risk to other payers.
