BOISE -- Idaho's legislators are thinking of changing their own benefits when it comes to their pension funds, putting themselves on level ground with other elected officials in the state. A proposed bill would change how legislator benefits are calculated with the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho (PERSI).
'No other elected official can do this'
Some current legislators say some former state lawmakers are benefiting from years of legislative service, then padding their retirements with high paying appointments. Representative Dennis Lake, a Republican from Blackfoot, is running a bill (HB 444) to change the more than 20-year-old law that allows lawmakers that perk.
As it stands now, a legislator's finale retirement benefits are determined by two factors: The amount of time spent working for the state and their highest earnings for 3 and a half consecutive years.
"No one else has this. No other elected official can do this," Representative Dennis Lake (R-Blackfoot) said.
Legislators who have taken higher paying appointments
Here are a couple of recent examples of legislators leaving the statehouse for high-paying jobs that qualify them for PERSI:
Last year, former Senator Joe Stegner was appointed to serve as the University of Idaho's Special Assistant to the President for State Governmental Relations. His current salary is $125,000 a year. He confirms he is enrolled in PERSI.
Also last year, former Senator Bob Geddes accepted an appointment as the State Tax Commission Chairman. He is currently making more than $85,000.
They aren't the only ones who have taken higher paying appointments: Former Representative Bill Deal was appointed as the Director of the Idaho Department of Insurance in 2007. He makes $97,323 per year.
Former Representative Celia Gould is the Director of the Department of Agriculture and was appointed in 2007 as well. She makes $106,620. Throughout the years, there have been many more.
More than 200 legislators could be benefiting
The PERSI office says member records are confidential, so KTVB can't find out who of those appointed former legislators is enrolled in PERSI or claiming benefits based on higher-paying public jobs. The office confirms since PERSI's creation, 237 legislators have held positions with other PERSI employers.
It is important to consider none of those former legislators is doing anything illegal.
Crunching the numbers
Here's where the controversy comes in for Lake: If former lawmakers, like Stegner, stay at their new jobs and salaries for three and a half years, their taxpayer-funded pensions could be spiked by hundreds or thousands of dollars each month.
According to Lake, under the current law, a lawmaker who served 14 years at the legislature before retiring are eligible for $350 per month when they turn 65. But a lawmaker who serves 10 years, then takes a state appointment for the 3 and a half years at $80,000 a year would get $1,800 a month.
So in total, that example shows a difference of about $1,500 a month in retirement benefits by spending the last years in public service at a higher paying appointment.
Leveling out the pension playing field
"What 444 does is put legislators on the same footing as other elected officials, be they county commissioners, mayors, whatever the case may be," Lake said.
Lake's bill would refactor the pension formula for legislators. They would get a mixed rate that factors in both any high-paying jobs along with earnings from legislative years, when they make roughly $16,000 a year.
"I use the term unconscionable that the legislature has set themselves up to receive a higher benefit than any other elected official. I don't think that's justifiable," Lake said.
Speaker Denney's take on change
Before the legislative session began, KTVB asked legislative leaders about the issue of a pension spiking bill. Speaker of the House Lawerence Denney (R-Midvale) fielded the question, saying an established citizens committee, not a law, is what could change the current pension law.
"Those rates and everything are set by the citizens committee and we will have an opportunity this summer to visit with them," Denney said. "I think that we will be sitting down and coming up with a proposal for them. I don't know whether the spiking will be one of the things we'll be talking about. I think that's a fairly easy fix, and I think the citizens committee based on what they've been hearing may fix that on their own."
Will the bill move?
Lake tried to run a legislative pension spiking bill in the 2011 session, but because he chose to hold the bill until late in the session, he says he ran out of time to get it through.
"Last year, I had the bill prepared early in the session. Then we had a respectable legislator go on to do other things, so I held the bill until the end of the session. Brought it forward, got it printed in state affairs and it didn't receive a hearing last year," Lake said.
Currently, Lake's bill is still in the House State Affairs Committee. He is awaiting an Attorney General opinion about when he should propose the bill take effect (either July 1 or December 1 of 2012). Lake claims he has heard no criticism of the bill, and his proposal seemed to have bipartisan support in committee.
More legislation aimed at PERSI changes for lawmakers
Lake is running another bill (HB 418) that would change legislator's PERSI calculations. He says current law allows local legislators to accumulate service time 25% faster than remote legislators. He explains local legislators are able to include travel reimbursements in their salary, while remote legislators do not. HB 418 would make it so only legislative salary would count toward accruing PERSI benefits. That bill will be read on the floor on Thursday.
