Senate Budget Committee Moves Pension Reform

The Senate Budget Committee passed a reworking of the state's pension system Thursday over the objections of several state workers and union officials.

The overhaul of the pension system calls on workers to contribute 3 percent of their salary toward their pension. It moved through the committee on a 12-8 vote, with Republicans Mike Fasano of New Port Richey and Thad Altman of Melbourne joining the six Democrats on the committee in voting against it.

Even some who voted for the measure were apprehensive, and said they would like to see a more sliding scale where lower-income employees pay a lower contribution rate than higher paid workers. Such a measure had been worked out in a separate committee chaired by Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Margate, where workers earning less than $75,000 put 2 percent of their salary toward their pensions and higher paid workers contributed 4 percent.

"I willvote to get the bill out of committee today, but if the bill appears on the floor this way I will not vote for it again," said Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach.

But other senators reminded the committee of the state's dire fiscal straits, and its $3.8 billion deficit.

"The fact is, we got a real arithmetic problem here -- we can't spend more than we take in. Everybody is being hurt in this budget. Everybody is making a sacrifice," Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, said.