- 5/17/16
§ 61 — NONUNION STATE EMPLOYEE PENSION CAP
The bill caps annual pensions at $125,000 for any nonunion members of the State Employees Retirement System (SERS) who are initially hired by the state on or after July 1, 2016, regardless of their years of vesting service or any other SERS requirements they have completed when they retire. It requires such a member's annual pension to be reduced to $125,000 if it exceeds that amount when it is calculated at the member's retirement or after a cost of living adjustment (COLA). It also prohibits such members with $125,000 annual pensions from receiving COLAs.
SERS is a defined benefit retirement plan that provides its members a fixed pension benefit determined by their tier membership (i.e., when they were hired), the number of years they worked for the state, and their final average salary. By law, the state must collectively bargain with the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC) over changes to SERS for unionized state employees.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2016
§ 117 — NONUNION HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS
The bill allows the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) commissioner and OPM secretary to establish health insurance benefit premium cost sharing requirements for all non-represented (presumably, nonunion) classified and unclassified state officers and employees. The cost sharing can be for up to 18% of the total premium equivalent, as determined by the comptroller. In general, state employees currently pay between 8.4% and 18% of their premium costs, depending on their plan and dependent coverage.
By law, the state must collectively negotiate with the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC) over health insurance for unionized state employees. Current law (1) allows the DAS commissioner to provide nonunion executive and judicial branch employees with benefits that are at least equal to those provided under unionized employees' collective bargaining agreements and (2) requires legislative employees and elected state officials to receive the same benefits provided under unionized employees' collective bargaining agreements (CGS § 5-200).
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2016
This impacts nearly 50 A&R employees. Three main divisions of the OGA (Ethics, Elections, FOIC) will again be separate, independent agencies (reversing the 2011 consolidation into OGA).
§§ 67-74 & 210 — OFFICE OF GOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNTABILITY (OGA)
By law, OGA consists of independent divisions for which it provides consolidated personnel, payroll, affirmative action, and administrative and business office functions, including information technology associated with these functions. The divisions have independent decision-making authority, including decisions on budgetary issues and employing necessary staff.
The bill removes the Office of State Ethics (OSE), State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC), and Freedom of Information Commission (FOIC) from OGA, thus making them each responsible for the functions listed above. It also removes the chairpersons of the Citizen's Ethics Advisory Board, SEEC, and FOIC from the Governmental Accountability Commission (GAC), thus reducing its membership to six. By law, GAC is within OGA and is responsible for (1) recommending OGA executive administrator candidates to the governor and (2) terminating the executive administrator's employment, if necessary.
Under the bill, the following six divisions remain in OGA:
1. Judicial Review Council,
2. Judicial Selection Commission,
3. Board of Firearms Permit Examiners,
4. Office of the Child Advocate,
5. Office of the Victim Advocate, and
6. State Contracting Standards Board.
The bill makes several technical and conforming changes, including requiring OSE's, SEEC's, and FOIC's executive directors, rather than the OGA executive administrator, to transmit their respective agencies' budget requests to OPM. It also repeals an obsolete provision (§ 210).
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2016
A&R has 2 employees assigned to the SBA and it is not yet known if they will remain with SOTS or move to DCP.
§§ 76 & 77 — STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTANCY
The bill transfers the State Board of Accountancy from the Secretary of the State's Office to the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP). The nine-member board, appointed by the governor, regulates the practice of public accountancy in the state.
In the transfer, the bill eliminates the board's ability to reimburse board members for expenses incurred performing their duties. Instead, DCP must provide office space for the board and board members must not be compensated for their services or reimbursed for necessary expenses.
The bill also eliminates the board's ability to (1) recommend personnel needed to carry out its duties and contract with such individuals and (2) appoint committees or people to advise or assist in administering or enforcing public accountancy law.
The bill makes other minor and technical changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2016
This is not A&R, but it is a wage freeze that was imposed on the judicial branch similar to the wage freeze imposed on managers...wage freeze, pension cap, and higher health insurance payments...you can figure out what the governor is thinking for the rest of us...
§§ 90-93 — JUDICIAL COMPENSATION
The bill delays by one year a scheduled 3% increase in salaries for judges and family support magistrates and per diem rates for family support referees and judge trial referees. Under the bill, the increases take effect July 1, 2017 instead of July 1, 2016.
It similarly delays a scheduled increase in the additional amounts that certain judges receive for performing administrative duties. It also delays a scheduled increase in the salary or per diem rate of certain officials whose compensation, by law, is determined in relation to a Superior Court judge's salary or state referee's per-diem rate.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage