Kentucky teachers furious as legislators pass pension bill

Authored by cnn.com and submitted by CheezIt624

(CNN) Several Kentucky teachers won't be going to work Friday after the state legislature approved changes to their pension on Thursday.

Educators, who are furious over the pension issue, called out of work in protest. At least nine counties have canceled school, the Kentucky Democrats tweeted early Friday. Kentucky has 120 counties.

The bill, which overhauls the state's pension, passed mostly on party lines and heads to Gov. Matt Bevin, who supports reforming the system. State leaders say it's critical to fix the pension crisis, which ranks as one of the worst in the US

Kentucky teachers have opposed changes to their pension, which was in Senate Bill 1 that proposed reducing benefits.

But in a surprise move, elements of Senate Bill 1 were tucked into another bill, Senate Bill 151, which had been about sewage services, reported several CNN affiliates in Kentucky. And the new, nearly 300-page Senate Bill 151 passed both the state House and Senate Thursday to the chagrin of teachers and retirees who crammed into the Capitol.

"Just vote no!" they chanted Thursday. "Vote them out!"

The Kentucky Education Association, which represents teachers and other education professionals, slammed the maneuver as a "classic legislative bait and switch."

"It stripped all the 'local provision of wastewater services' language out of SB151 and replaced it with many of the harmful provisions of SB1," the association stated.

The group expressed further concern: "We haven't seen the bill, weren't allowed to testify. The bill hasn't had the required actuarial analysis, includes no fiscal impact statement and no fiscal note."

A summary of the bill has the following, according to CNN affiliate WKYT:

There will be no changes to the annual cost of living adjustments, which will remain at 1.5%.

New hires will have to enter a hybrid cash balance plan, in which members contribute a specified amount into their account.

Limits the number of sick days teachers can put toward their retirement.

Kentucky Republicans tweeted a summary of the bill.

Republican lawmakers attempted to allay concerns, saying that the bill is a compromise to save the state's pension.

"I would urge everyone to take a deep breath and not buy into the talking points and the hyperbole," Sen. Damon Thayer, a Republican, said during the discussion. "This is good news for teachers, current, retired and future, because it puts Kentucky's pension systems on a path to sustainability."

The bill passed the House in a 49-46 vote and the Senate by 22-15, according to CNN affiliate WLKY.

Gov. Bevin, a Republican praised the lawmakers who supported the bill for not "kicking the pension problem down the road."

Tonight 49 members of the Kentucky House and 22 members of the Kentucky Senate voted not to keep kicking the pension problem down the road

Anyone who will receive a retirement check in the years ahead owes a deep debt of gratitude to these 71 men & women who did the right thing — Governor Matt Bevin (@GovMattBevin) March 30, 2018

But Democrats and opponents of the bill disagreed. Kentucky's Attorney General Andy Beshear, a Democrat tweeted: "This is government at its worst."

Moments ago, Republican leadership amended a sewage bill to include "pension reform." They are now forcing lawmakers to vote on the bill without time to read its 291 pages, with no testimony from the public and without any actuarial analysis. This is government at its worst. ^AB — KY Attorney General (@kyoag) March 29, 2018

sglville on March 30th, 2018 at 11:39 UTC »

Its not just “Several Kentucky teachers” not going to school today. Many school districts are closed including the largest ones in the state.

abodyweightquestion on March 30th, 2018 at 11:08 UTC »

But in a surprise move, elements of Senate Bill 1 were tucked into another bill, Senate Bill 151, which had been about sewage services

Guys. This is no way to run a country.

pencilvia on March 30th, 2018 at 10:54 UTC »

Oh! I was wondering what was going on, as I just woke up to this message... Due to significant teacher absences and the inability to safely cover a large number of classes with substitute teachers in many of our schools, schools will be closed today, March 30, 2018. And naturally I thought...meh, whatever. I'll just browse Reddit. Thanks, Reddit!