House Committee Begins Examining Public Employees' Pension Plans

The House State Affairs Committee met on Thursday morning as they started examining one of the pressing issues that will dominate the 2011 session -- public employees pension plans. The committee, which is chaired by Rep. Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland, gathered information on Thursday for the session which opens in March.

The goal of the Florida House is to ensure that those who are vested in the current state retirement system receive the benefits that theyve earned, and that future benefits are awarded fairly without compromising the long-term solvency of the program and ensuring that it is executed in a fiscally responsible manner, insisted McKeel.

The House is currently in the initial stages of gathering information and background on public employee retirement systems, added McKeel. There may be many bills filed on this issue during the upcoming 2011 legislative session, but at this point neither the State Affairs Committee nor the Government Operations Subcommittee has a set proposal for revising either the Florida Retirement System or those local retirement plans that are independent of the states retirement system. We look forward to a continued dialogue on this important issue.

Sign up for news alerts from Sunshine State News