Still no agreement on PERS

Published 5:00 am Wednesday, June 5, 2013

SALEM — After two days of private negotiations at the governor’s mansion, legislative leaders said the talks have yet to yield a deal on how to cut the state’s pension system and raise taxes.

Gov. John Kitzhaber called party leaders to his mansion, Mahonia Hall, on Monday. The group, which includes the governor; House Republican Leader Mike McLane, of Powell Butte; House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland; Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem; and Senate Minority Leader Ted Ferrioli, R-John Day, all met again Tuesday morning and afternoon.

Most Popular

The two days of discussion did not produce a compromise.

“The talks have been productive; there’s still no deal,” said Senate Republican spokesman Michael Gay.

Republicans rekindled the debate over the Public Employees Retirement System last week when they unveiled more details on how they propose to cut state pensions. The two sides have been at an impasse over public pensions and taxes. Democrats want to raise more revenue, while Republicans are pushing for more cuts to the state’s pension system.

Both sides hope additional funds could be spent to bolster the state’s education budget.

Earlier this month, Kitzhaber proposed changing what’s known as the money-match formula. Ending the money match for inactive members would save $442 million in the next two years. Changes to PERS already made this session in Senate Bill 822, along with Kitzhaber’s latest proposal, would reduce the $14 billion unfunded PERS liability by $4.2 billion.

Republicans threw out a menu of ideas, which they hope could save more than $1 billion. Their proposal included more aggressive cuts to the cost-of-living adjustments and expanding the governor’s proposal for inactive members to include all retirees.

The legislative session is slated to finish near the end of June. Lawmakers need to approve a balanced two-year budget before they can adjourn.

Tim Raphael, the governor’s spokesman, said no other meetings have been scheduled.

Marketplace