Panel clarifies that public‑safety employees cannot join ASRS supplemental deferred‑compensation plan

The House Ways and Means Committee returned House Bill 20 34 with a due‑pass recommendation after members heard from the bill sponsor and Arizona State Retirement System staff.

Representative Anderson, sponsor of House Bill 20 34, told the committee the bill simply clarifies which employees are eligible for the ASRS supplemental deferred compensation plans. “We just want to clarify who's eligible for which plan, and we thought we'd put it in statute,” Representative Anderson said.

Jessica Thomas, legislative liaison for the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS), told the committee the bill specifies that employees who are participating in one of the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS) plans are not eligible to participate in ASRS supplemental deferred compensation plans. “If you were previously a member of the ASRS and now you become an elected official, you do stay with the ASRS,” Thomas said in response to a committee question about legislators who previously worked for the state.

The committee debated choice and portability briefly; Representative Sandoval explained he would have preferred members to have a choice of plans but recorded a no vote at the committee stage while reserving the right to change his vote on the floor. Roll call produced seven ayes, one nay and one absence; the committee returned the bill with a due‑pass recommendation.

The bill is a statutory clarification of benefit plan eligibility and does not change benefit formulas or create a new supplemental plan.