Staff report
The Kentucky Supreme Court unanimously upheld this morning a ruling by Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd striking down the state’s pension reform law passed by the 2018 General Assembly.
Teachers protested in Frankfort
It was unanimous.
It was commonly known as the “sewer bill” because a quick process used by majority Republicans substituted the pension bill into another one.
The Supreme Court has ruled that the process violated a constitutional provision intended to assure that lawmakers and the public have time to read and consider a bill before it is passed into law.
The ruling is a blow to the Bevin administration which aimed for a solution to the deficits within Kentucky’s public retirement systems which is nearly $43 million.
But Attorney General Andy Beshear, teachers’ groups and retiree groups objected to the bill.
Stay tuned for more details.
House Majority Leadership released the following statement, in part:
Because of this disappointing ruling, state employee retirement will continue to be the most insolvent pension system in America, and will serve as a drag on Kentucky’s entire economy. Senate Bill 151 was the first step in moving our pension systems toward a new day of solvency and health. Today’s decision puts retirement checks for hardworking public employees at risk, and is a major setback to the difficult work undertaken to reverse the indecision and inaction of the past two decades. Despite this, we are committed to leading in the effort to enact a solution for the critical situation that once again faces our Commonwealth.
The Kentucky Retired Teacher’s Association released the following statement:
The Kentucky Supreme Court’s decision today to overturn Senate Bill 151 provides the citizens of our state with a unique opportunity to put aside partisan rhetoric and come together to craft a legislative solution to our current pension crisis, one that insures dignified retirement for the thousands of our retired school teachers and those who will retire in the future.
Many states have been able to enact meaningful pension reform that strikes a balance between maintaining the solvency of retirement funds while not breaking state government’s promise to provide teachers with a fair pension upon their retirement. We look forward to and remain committed to collaborating with Gov. Bevin and our legislators to find a reasonable solution to this situation that works for all stakeholders.
House Democratic Leader Rocky Adkins said:
This ruling is a huge victory, and it re-affirms what I and other caucus members said in committee and on the floor when we called the House Republicans out of order and said they were breaking the law for the way they handled Senate Bill 151, the ‘sewer’ pension bill. We said that the legislative rules and processes should not be ignored, because that shuts out the very public we serve. This ruling also properly protects our teachers, public employees and their retirees throughout the commonwealth. Going forward, our caucus remains firm .
Good for the Supreme Court! The fact that they struck down the legislation with a 7 – 0 vote indicates that there was never a doubt as to its legality. Our Governor “St. Matt the Devine” along with his Republican leadership continue to tilt at windmills and the windmills continue to win. They may very well come back next month and bring it up for vote again but I have a feeling they are going to have to go through a lot of teachers and other state employees to get it passed. It won’t be easy.