The latest Employee Retirement System news from The Texas Tribune.
Will the Planned Parenthood brouhaha affect elections? Should state officeholders be able to collect retirement while they're still on the job? And should Texas lawmakers have term limits? Full Story
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Texas has scored a 68 out of 100, placing 27th in a national state integrity study. The state got high marks for auditing and for monitoring pension funds, but not as high for accountability of the governor and legislators. Full Story
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State Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Forth Worth, shares his concerns about public officials collecting retirement while continuing to work. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry's use of the obscure provision has shed light on a controversial practice that has remained in the shadows. Full Story
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Aaronson on Rick Perry's Texas Enterprise Fund, Aguliar on the DOJ's Joe Arpaio problem, Galbraith on the uncertainty about Texas' electric grid, Grissom and Schwartz of The New York Times on the latest in the Michael Morton case, Hamilton on the first leg of Perry's Iowa bus tour, Murphy and McLain unveil our new campaign finance database, Ramsey et al. go live with the first round of our 2012 election brackets, Root on a GOP rival's queries about Perry's pension play, M. Smith contrasts the various school finance lawsuits and Tan, Dehn and Murphy on a shortage of mental health professionals: The best of our best content from December 19-23, 2011. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry has sparked a wave of criticism, and some unanswered questions, after filing paperwork this week revealing that he is collecting both a salary and a pension from the state of Texas. Critics say there are rules designed to prevent such arrangements. Perry and his aides say its perfectly legal. Full Story
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As a Texas governor and presidential candidate, Rick Perry has repeatedly turned to the marketplace for policy solutions to health care and retirement security. But as a private citizen, Perry has generally relied on the government. Full Story
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The Texas attorney general and the FBI are already investigating the accidental release of personal information by the comptroller's office. Now, as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, an outside group wants to start its own investigation. Full Story
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Frustrated state employees continue to search for help — and answers — after the comptroller's office accidentally left sensitive personal data on an open server for anyone to see. Full Story
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As they talk of cutting pension contributions and raising premiums for state employee health care and mandating layoffs and furloughs at state agencies, what are lawmakers doing to their own compensation and benefits? Full Story
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Gov. Scott Walker should come to Texas, where much of what he’s seeking already exists. The right to bargain collectively isn’t allowed among state employees, and no public employee in Texas may legally go on strike. Full Story
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As Texas lawmakers look to slash billions in state spending, pension plans have become fair game. Mose Buchele of KUT News reports on a legislative proposal to decrease state contributions to two retirement plans that collectively serve hundreds of thousands of Texans. Full Story
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The Texas House has unveiled a $156.4 billion budget that's $31.1 billion smaller than the current two-year spending plan — a drop of 16.6 percent. The proposed budget came with $1.2 billion in recommendations for savings and new revenue from the Legislative Budget Board. Full Story
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Federal health care reform’s biggest benefit for young adults — a mandate that insurance providers cover dependents until they reach age 26 — won’t apply to thousands of 25-year-old Texans for one simple reason: Their parents work for the state. The federal rule, which went into effect in late September, required all insurance providers to extend their cap to 26 at the start of their next “plan year.” For many private providers, that began Jan. 1. But the Texas Employees Retirement System plan year doesn't begin until next September, meaning 5,500 25-year-olds will miss out. Full Story
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The insurance plan for state employees will have a $140.4 million shortfall next year — and that's the least of its problems. The projected shortfall for the two years after that is $880 million, and it will take another $476 million to replenish the legally required contingency fund. The Employee Retirement System and state leaders are surprisingly mellow about the red ink, saying growth in the cost of health benefits has actually stabilized at around 9 percent. But steady and large increases in costs threaten to erode the program, leaving policymakers to consider cuts in benefits, to negotiate lower prices or to find vast amounts of new money. Full Story
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When the economy tanked, public pension funds across the country — including here in Texas — lost billions. Some funds are looking to put more money into private equity, which promises big returns and carries big risks. As Matt Largey of KUT News reports, it could be doubling-down on losses already suffered. Full Story
A federal conviction for lying on her taxes may send embattled Dallas Democratic Rep. Terri Hodge to prison. But it won’t stop her from drawing a state pension. Full Story
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Few members of the State Board of Education have finance expertise. Should we be concerned that they manage the investments of the $23 billion Permanent School Fund? Full Story
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Though Texas employees are increasingly retiring just to get rehired — a clever way to bring in a salary AND a pension at once — USA Today reports that many states are curbing the practice. Full Story
Ramsey and others on Bill White and the changing state of the race for governor; Thevenot's two-parter on what Dallas churches are doing to combat social ills and racial division; Ramshaw on the use of force by school district police departments (and why parents don't know about it); Grissom's two-parter, abetted by Stiles, on unregulated payday lenders; Aguilar on Mexican immigrants who play against type; and Rapoport on those missing extra checks for retired public employees. The best of the best from November 21 to 25, 2009. Full Story
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