Committee approves bill adding WeLeadCS to TRS employer list and requests actuary data

The State and Local Government Committee unanimously approved House Bill 73, as amended by Committee Substitute 1, to add WeLeadCS to a statutory list of educational administrative and support agencies that administer their own retirement programs under the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS).

Representative D.J. Johnson presented the measure and said the first pages of the bill list agencies that participate in TRS; he and other sponsors noted WeLeadCS was already a TRS member but was not included on the statutory list. The amendment corrects that omission so WeLeadCS can administer its retirement program like other listed providers.

Representative James Tipton described a committee substitute he sponsored that directs the TRS actuary to provide additional information on the percentage of the unfunded actuarial liability that each TRS employer holds. "What the committee sub I added to House Bill 73 deals with, it would direct the Teachers Retirement System Actuary, to give us some additional information on the percentage of the unfunded liability, that each employer of TRS holds," Tipton said.

Alicia Sells of WeLeadCS (presenting as a stakeholder) and other presenters offered the committee background on the agencies list. The committee voted 10-0 to report the bill favorably to the floor.

The bill text as discussed in committee (Committee Substitute 1) performs two actions: it adds WeLeadCS to the list of entities authorized to administer their own TRS retirement programs, and it directs the TRS actuary to prepare and provide employer-specific information on shares of TRS’s unfunded liability to the General Assembly.

The committee provided no funding breakdowns for actuarial work or timelines for the actuary’s report during the presentation; sponsors said they would be available for questions on the floor.