It happens every two years. All 150 members of the Texas House of Representatives, as well as around half of those in the Texas Senate (barring sessions after redistricting), must decide whether they will file again for re-election or if they will hang it up and move...
If there is one thing that has always been certain, it’s the government employment safety net. Though the pay may not always compete with market rates – nor should it; it is public service after all – the lucrative post-employment benefits have always played a big...
At an April pension event cosponsored by The Civic Federation and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, a speaker from the Chicago Fed drew audible gasps from the audience. He did so after proposing a special property tax, levied on top of the existing Illinois...
Next week, teachers in Arizona are set to take part in a statewide walkout in response to a 20-percent pay increase proposed by Gov. Doug Doucey that they feel doesn’t go far enough. The walkout comes on the heels of other recent teacher demonstrations in West...
After a contentious Houston city council Budget Committee hearing over the issuance of $1 billion in pension obligation bonds, Mayor Turner announced via Twitter that the city will proceed with placing the item on the ballot. The Houston pension reform bill authored...
Houston’s pension reform overhaul crossed the finish line yesterday as the Texas House voted to adopt the final version in a 103 to 43 vote. The plan has been years in the making and is intended to significantly reduce the $8 billion (conservative estimate) unfunded...
Making an even stronger case for why Texas’ municipal pension systems should be handled locally, and why voters should retire some lawmakers by force, a member of the Texas House took to Twitter to threaten the pension plans of Houston Firefighters who called him out...
Houston’s pension reform plan has cleared its second hurdle, passing the Texas House with 112 votes. After pushback from conservatives, bill author State Rep. Dan Flynn (R-Canton) substituted his original bill for that of State Sen. Joan Huffman’s. The differences...
Houston’s pension reform plan cleared the Texas Senate after bill author Joan Huffman (R-Houston) made concessions, allowing for the potential of cash-balance plans in the future. Huffman made the change after her original bill received pushback from conservatives who...
Giving her colleagues less than 24 hours to digest a 215-page floor substitute, State Sen. Joan Huffman of Houston is expected to offer a significant step backwards in the fight to reform Houston’s broken pension system. Sen. Huffman’s floor substitute to SB 2190...
Underscoring the need for reform this session, the Senate’s most senior member has been hired as a lobbyist on behalf of a government board. Worse yet, not only is said advocacy paid for with tax dollars, but it represents an obvious conflict of interest. And it’s all...
The reviews of Mayor Turner’s preliminary pension reform plan have been split. Some, mostly those from individuals with close ties to the administration, believe the plan could go a long way toward getting ahold of Houston’s growing unfunded liabilities. Meanwhile the...
Mayor Sylvester Turner announced that his office has reached a preliminary deal with the police, fire, and city workers in hopes of avoiding Houston’s self-imposed pension crisis. According to Turner, the series of proposals will immediately reduce the unfunded...
During his inauguration and since, Mayor Sylvester Turner has repeated the phrase “shared sacrifice” when talking about closing the upcoming budget gap. While the administration is still developing the minute details, we finally have an idea of what form that “shared...
State managed pensions hinder the ability of local governments to negotiate plans that are reasonably in line with what they can afford, but the road to local control has a major road block – government collection of union dues. The way to level the playing field...
The City of Dallas has been exposed for keeping billions in “hidden” debt from its financial statements. According to a recent report, Dallas currently has the third highest taxpayer burden in the nation, driven primarily by unfunded pension obligations that are held...
It’s widely known that city officials’ funny numbers understate debt costs in the Bayou City. Continuing the dissection of the pension problem, it’s important look at how officials use inflated projected returns on investment (ROI) to understate pension debt....
Moody’s, one of three major credit rating agencies, has revised their outlook on Houston to negative citing the growing debt and pension obligations that city officials have continually failed to address. The report states, “Houston’s economy continues to benefit from...
Legislation filed today would increase government transparency, requiring greater information be available to taxpayers about public debt while ensuring the state’s pensions are making their actuarial data more readily available. The legislation was inspired by the...
There’s a lot of discussion brewing about pension reform in the Lone Star State. We’ve seen across the nation the problems caused by poorly run pension systems. If we are to head down this road, maybe the first pension the legislature addresses in 2013...
