State employee contracts done, pension bill yet to be completed
St. Paul, Minn. – Monday was a pivotal day for many state employees. The Minnesota Senate approved and then sent the Minnesota House a bill to approve contracts for state employees. On a strong bipartisan vote of 93-33, the Minnesota House of Representatives voted in support of the bill and sent it to Gov. Dayton for his signature.
The bill addressed collectively bargained contracts negotiated in 2017. These labor-management agreements will now go into effect for the 30,000 state employees who provide services that make Minnesota such a great place to live. We depend on state employees to provide care, assistance, support, education, and security. There still remains a handful of state contracts which are in final negotiations; those contracts should come before the legislature before the end of session.
While contracts for current workers have been ratified, retirees are awaiting approval of the pension bill which addresses the financial security and sustainability of public pensions for more than 500,000 active and retired public employees. Although the pension bill passed out of the Senate on Monday, House members are being told we won’t be voting on it until later in the session.
The pension bill is supported by 25 public employee unions and organizations, along with the League of Minnesota Cities, the Association of Minnesota Counties, and four pension fund boards of trustees who are obligated to act in the best interest of both members and state taxpayers.
Most importantly, this bill secures the pensions of dedicated state employees while also providing a $6 billion reduction in current and future costs by lowering state, school district, county, and city liabilities.
One important local provision within the pension bill is HF 11, which was introduced the first day of session in 2017. I am carrying this bill to provide clarity on the fund distribution related to the Austin Part-time Firefighters Relief Association account and the city of Austin. We had this provision in the pension bill last year. Unfortunately, in 2017 the bill was attached to another bill which the Governor did not support resulting in a veto. This year, the vote should be taken on a clean bill with no controversy. The Senate has already voted in support of the clean bill so I am hoping we will vote on this bill in the House soon.
The legislature will be on Easter/Passover break from March 30 until April 9. When we return we are expected to be concluding work on supplemental budget bills, capital investment (bonding), and tax conformity. Those bills along with the pension bill will keep us busy until May 21, our constitutionally required day of adjournment.
Rep. Jeanne Poppe can be reached at the Capitol by email at rep.jeanne.poppe@house.mn or by phone at 651-296-4193.
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