FRS Pension Plan/Employee & Retiree Benefits:

As we entered the beginning of Interim Committee Hearings we had hopes that the budget deficit would not be significant as last year. By the second week of interim meetings the deficit numbers had reached 2.5 billion.

What we are watching for: (The majority of these issues will be budgetary and not have a bill number)

Healthcare Reform: We will be watching for an increase in cost to the employee and cuts to the coverage, as well as a potential movement to a healthcare savings account program.

Health Insurance Subsidy: We are hearing that they subsidy presently being paid to retirees will go unfunded in the budget, leaving only 1 year of funds in the account to pay out present retirees and nothing for future employees.

Health Insurance fee calculation for retirees: In an effort to cut the cost of current employee health insurance, the legislature is contemplating separating the calculation of the retirees and the current employees, which would cause  a significant increase in cost to the retirees.

Increase in employee contribution: We are hearing that they are looking to increase the 3% to the full 5% that the Governor has requested.

Changes to the benefits: They are still looking to cut the amount of unused vacation and sick leave.

DROP: They are still talking about doing away with the DROP program.

Heart Presumption: They are looking to severely change the heart presumption statutes, thereby making it nearly impossible for anyone to qualify.

Local 175/185 Plan:
The Florida League Of Cities is still pushing to pass their local pension plan reform bill, which is basically a war that they are waging on police and fire, because they wish to avoid fulfilling their contractual obligations, and want to pull all premium tax dollars to the funding of the current plans and not use it for the enhancement of plans. They are also looking to attack the ‘heart presumption’ statutes

What the bill does:

1. Collective Bargaining Over Retirement Benefits and Revenues: These changes would remove the current state law mandate that specified insurance premium tax revenues be used only for new or “extra” retirement benefits for firefighters and police officers. The cities fail to mention that the premium tax was intended to enhance the retirement plans only, and that they opted out of the required FRS program and most chose to opt out of social security. They do not want everyone to know that most officers with local pension plans do not and will not ever receive social security. They also fail to mention that even those that do have social security will have their social security benefits cut by 2/3, simply because they have a public safety pension and because of the federal windfall elimination act.
2. Alternative Retirement Plans: Allow cities to unilaterally transition to a defined contribution plan, the Florida Retirement System, or another retirement program for police/fire and continue to receive insurance premium tax revenues to pay for the retirement expenses. First they can only switch to another pension plan if the employee agrees or they are a new hire, secondly since the premium tax is a benefit that the counties have never received, why should the cities be allowed to have the premium tax dollars if it means that they will be using those tax dollars without meeting any requirements.
3. Boards of Trustees Fiscal Transparency and Accountability: Require statutorily created police/fire pension boards of trustees to adopt and operate under an administrative expense budget, and require a detailed accounting of pension boards of trustees’ expenses. This is simply the cities attempt to control the pension boards and we all know how that works out , just ask Miami…..
4. Tax Relief: If a city chooses not to receive insurance premium tax revenues, provide tax relief to citizens within that city and do not continue to levy the city’s portion of the insurance premium tax. Those funds are not the tax revenues of that city, they are the tax revenues that are meant for those employees of that city, the cities should not be able to refuse the funds if they are not in FRS. If the cities do not wish to enhance their present pension plans, they can simply opt to use those plans for an additional ‘share plan’ for the employees.
5. Fiscally Responsible Retirement Plan Termination: Require police/fire pension boards of trustees and cities to work together for a fiscally responsible distribution of plan assets if a city must terminate its police/fire retirement plan. The cities seem to be under the delusion that these assets are theirs……. They are the employees……..Enough said….
6. Clarify (Again) Police Overtime Used for Retirement Purposes:  Clarify that police officers may use up to 300 hours per year in overtime compensation when calculating retirement benefits as provided in the plan or collective bargaining agreement, and that police officers are not entitled to the use of a minimum of 300 hours per year in overtime compensation for retirement purposes. The cities, administrators and Representative Costello fail to mention that the overtime is forced overtime, and that the cities are saving money by forcing the overtime since they fail to hire adequate staff numbers, and that administration has the ability to control the overtime. Overtime is the choice of the employer not the police officer.
7. Disability Presumptions: Reform current statutory disability presumptions for firefighters, law enforcement officers, and correctional officers relating to tuberculosis, heart disease, or hypertension to require the employee to meet age and employment requirements, allow the presumption to be overcome by a preponderance of evidence, and allow certain individual risk factors to be considered when applying the presumption. Disability presumptions are applicable to both workers’ compensation and disability pension claims.  (These proposals may be adjusted based upon the findings and recommendations of the current Task Force on Public Employee Disability Presumptions).

Legislative Body Bill:
The Florida Sheriffs Association and the Florida Association of Counties are the backers of this legislation. For those that do not know, this bill will make constitutional officers a legislative body as well as being an executive branch of government. It will basically abridge the collective bargaining rights of the employee and make them meaningless. We have won this issue before perc in two cases and before the 1st district court of appeals. We will still have to fight the issue in the legislature, and it is important that each lodge and officer hold their county commissioners responsible for the shirking of their duties as the legislative body.

Wage Protection: This bill will seriously impede the ability of employees to seek redress and limit the ability for them to file unfavor labor practices. This is another attempt to limit employee rights and is nothing more than a new angle. We will need to heavily oppose this legislation.
Senator Simmons: