Missouri committee hears plans to shore up sheriff retirement fund; jail per-diem and paper-service fee among options

House Bill 558, a measure to stabilize the Missouri Sheriff’s Retirement System, drew a lengthy public hearing before the House Committee on Pensions on the morning of the committee session. The bill was described in committee materials as sponsored by Representative Hollis; Representative Hovis gave the committee’s opening overview and outlined possible statutory funding changes now that a constitutional amendment (Amendment 6) failed at the ballot box.

Committee members, the system’s executive director and dozens of sheriffs and county officials discussed three primary revenue ideas: a $2 redirect of the state jail per diem reimbursement, use of an already‑existing $5 paper‑service fee, and a statutory 2% county employer contribution. Sheriff offices have also agreed to a 5% employee contribution, which the system began collecting in 2024.

Why it matters: The retirement system’s longstanding primary funding source was declared unconstitutional by the Missouri Supreme Court in 2021. Melissa Lortz, executive director of the Missouri Sheriff’s Retirement System, told the committee the system has received $2.5 million in state aid the past two years and that the governor again…