Jacob White, staff to the Law Enforcement Officers' and Fire Fighters' Plan 2 Retirement Board, briefed trustees on legislation and budget actions from the 2025 legislative session during the board's May 28 meeting.

"The board endorsed one bill this session, Senate Bill 5306, which allowed members of LEFT 2 to purchase authorized leave of absence service credit if they retired instead of returning to work," White said. He told the board SB 5306 passed both houses unanimously and will be effective July 27.

White also described a Department of Retirement Systems bill that authorizes local employers to use automatic enrollment for deferred compensation plans; that provision passed and will take effect the same day as SB 5306, he said. He told trustees the governor vetoed a proposed budget change that would have lowered the threshold for employer payments for excess compensation from twice to 1.5 times a worker's regular rate of pay; the veto preserved the current two-times threshold.

White identified several other legislative items and studies of interest to trustees: a bill raising the actuarial assumed investment return from 7.0% to 7.25% (affecting most pension plans but not LEFT 2), proposals to merge or terminate certain plans that were studied or proposed but did not become law, and a select-committee study directive in the budget to examine pension consolidation and related fiscal and legal effects. He recommended the board consider educational briefings on potential merger proposals and other emerging issues so trustees would understand options and be ready if proposals return in future sessions.

Board members asked about prospective versus retroactive effect and whether the board should prepare educational materials or studies in anticipation of future action. No formal board endorsement of new legislation was taken at the meeting; staff were asked to prepare educational briefings and include possible topics in interim planning.