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Committee hears bill requiring employers to settle PERS net pension liability if they leave the system; members add condition to secure PERS board approval
Summary
The Rules Committee considered Senate Bill 2794, which would require participating employers that choose to leave PERS to settle their pro rata share of the system’s net pension liability, and the committee added a condition requiring PERS board confirmation of requested language.
Senator Sparks told the Rules Committee that Senate Bill 2794 addresses how an employer’s pro rata share of PERS’ net pension liability would be handled if that employer elects to leave the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS).
"This bill would say if any employer who's a participant in the PERS system elects to leave the PERS system, they simply have to settle up the liability that is on the books, relative to their employees," Sparks said as he explained the committee substitute.
Committee members discussed technical wording changes in the committee substitute and sought confirmation that the language had come from PERS attorneys. One committee member requested a formal written assurance from the PERS board that the committee‑sub wording was acceptable; the committee added a "reverse repealer" amendment (described in the transcript as a mechanism to ensure the board’s clarification/adoption is on record) so that the requested terminology change would be confirmed by PERS before the bill moves to the floor or, if confirmation was not provided, the committee could call up the original language on the floor.
Sparks and committee members characterized the bill language as technical and drafted with input from PERS counsel; they noted the committee substitute substituted the term "net pension liability" for earlier technical terminology. The transcript includes committee discussion about whether the language in the committee substitute fully matched the PERS board recommendation; the sponsor and PERS counsel confirmed the substitute language was provided by PERS attorneys but a committee member sought written confirmation from the board prior to floor consideration.
Ending: The committee adopted the reverse‑repealer amendment to secure written confirmation from the PERS board and then passed the committee substitute; the transcript records the bill being reported from committee. The transcript does not record a roll‑call vote tally for the committee action.
