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Appropriations committee votes no on Senate File 187 to raise public-employee retirement contributions
Summary
The House Appropriations Committee declined to advance Senate File 187, a bill to increase employer contributions to public-employee retirement plans, after members said the sponsor and administering agency were not present and the bill's fiscal impacts required clarification.
The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday recorded a committee-level no vote on Senate File 187, a bill proposing increases to employer contributions for public-employee retirement plans.
The committee's action came after members reviewed the bill's fiscal note and expressed concern that neither the bill sponsor nor the agency that administers public employee retirement appeared to be present to explain why the increases were needed. Representative Sherwood said he was “scratching my head a little bit about, why it's being revisited.”
The bill’s fiscal note, as presented during the hearing, lists appropriations that committee members cited while discussing the measure: $5,000,000 from the general fund to the state auditor and $3,400,000 from the public school foundation program account to the state auditor. Committee members also identified text changes in contribution rates in the draft: one subsection described a shift from 9.25% for a period through mid-2026 to 9.5% and related quarter-percent adjustments in other lines of the bill.
Members emphasized uncertainty about whether the increases represent an obligation the state must meet or a policy choice. Representative Sherwood and Representative Alman asked for more context from the administering agency; Representative Alman said, “Since we don't have any testimony as to why this increase is coming, I cannot answer whether we're obligated to this particular expenditure or not.” The chair advised the committee would seek more information from the sponsor for floor debate.
The committee then took a roll-call vote on the motion before it. The clerk recorded the vote on the "do pass" motion as follows: Representative Alemand — No; Representative Angelos — No; Representative Harrelson — No; Representative Sherwood — No; Representative Smith — No; Chairman Bair — No. Representative Pendergraft was recorded as excused. The committee reported “6 no, 1 excused.” The chair said the committee's action will be reflected on the floor as a no vote from Appropriations.
The committee closed public comment on SF 187 and said it would seek additional information from the sponsor before further floor action.
Votes recorded in committee are advisory to the full House; the bill’s next steps were not decided at the hearing and will appear later on the floor calendar.
