Retired Public Employees Council of WA Working to protect and enhance the pension and health care benefits of Washington retired state, county and local government employees
RPEC Weekly ACTION Newsletter – 1-7-2022
In This Edition
- Plan 1 COLA Bills
- ACTION ALERT – Operating Budget Hearings
- Legislative Bill Summary
Plan 1 COLA Bills
The Select Committee’s COLA proposal has been introduced in the House as HB 1721 and is sponsored by Rep. Drew Stokesbary (LD 31-R) along with co-sponsors Rep. Timm Ormsby (LD 3-D), Rep. Mari Leavitt (LD 28-D), Rep. Mike Sells (LD 38-D), Rep. Jesse Johnson (LD 30-D), Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon (LD 34-D), Rep. Eric Robertson (LD 31-R), Rep. Amy Walen (LD 48-D), Rep. Laurie Dolan (LD 22-D), and Rep. Javier Valdez (LD 46-D). The bill provides a one-time 3% COLA for PERS 1 and TRS 1 members with a $110 per monthly cap. A companion bill has been introduced in the Senate as SB 5676 by Senator Steve Conway (LD 29-D).
While we will support this legislation to provide short-term help, we still need to impress upon legislators the need for permanent relief for Plan 1 retirees.
Action Item:
Please call, write, or email your legislators and encourage them to support the one-time 3% Plan 1 COLA bills.
Tell your Legislator – “We encourage the legislature to restore a permanent Plan 1 COLA for our oldest public servants. Please support HB-1721 and SB-5676, a one-time Plan 1 COLA which will provide short-term relief for retirees.”
You can find contact information for your legislators here:
https://apps.leg.wa.gov/Rosters/Members/
ACTION ALERT – Operating Budget Hearings
The Governor’s supplemental budget was released prior to the Holidays and included funding for the one-time 3% Plan 1 COLA proposal that the Select Committee on Pension Policy (SCPP) endorsed in November.
The House Appropriations Committee is meeting on Monday, January 10th at 3:30 pm. The House Operating Budget bill is HB 1816.
The Senate Ways & Means Committee is meeting on Tuesday, January 11th at 4:00 pm. The Senate Operating Budget bill is SB 5693.
Action Item:
Both committee meetings will be virtual. We are asking members to follow our instructions detailed in the document at this link – Instructions – and sign up in support of the respective bill being heard. Normally, you would need to be in Olympia, on the Capitol campus to sign up in support of a bill at a hearing. Remember, under Organization, please use “RPEC member, Plan 1 (or 2 or 3) retiree”.
If you wish to sign in supporting these bills, please do so prior to the respective meetings on Monday & Tuesday.
Legislative Bill Summary
Below is a link to the bills we are tracking as they move through the legislative process. Full Text and updates on these bills can be found by searching for the bill number at: https://app.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/
Please visit the Legislative News section at https://rpecwa.org for a list of bills currently of focus to RPEC.
