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November 19, 2009

The House Appropriations Committee (HAC) Retreat continued on November 18th, and VRS Director Robert Schultz and HAC Fiscal Analyst Michael Jay offered a "Review and Comparison of State Retirement Systems."  These presentations are available online at the following links:
 
http://hac.state.va.us/Committee/files/2009/11-18-09/VRS_Comparison.pdf
 
http://hac.state.va.us/Committee/files/2009/11-18-09/VRS_Review.pdf
 
The policy option that was most discussed was requiring employees to make a contribution to the cost of the retirement system.  For those of you that have been following this issue attentively, this was Option R1 in the JLARC report.
Options presented included

1)  requiring employees to pay the 5% employee contribution
2) modifying the COLA
3) modifying the age/service requirements for unreduced retirement (Adopt the rule of 90 - age and service must equal 90) and
4) reducing the benefit multiplier.
The Senate Finance Committee posted the state budget hearing schedule below:
 
House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees Regional Public Hearings on the Governor's Proposed
2010-12 Biennial State Budget
 
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Hearings begin at 12:00 noon
Portsmouth - Tidewater Community College, New Portsmouth Campus, "The Forum", Building A
VBEA President Dominic Melito will be speaking at this hearing.
 
Harrisonburg -- James Madison University, Grafton-Stovall Theatre

Blacksburg - Virginia Tech, Graduate Life Center (formerly the Donaldson-Brown Center)
 
Friday, January 8, 2010
Hearing begins at 10:00 a.m.
Fairfax County - Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale Campus (Ernst Center Theater)
 
Monday, January 11, 2010
Hearing begins at 12:00 noon
Richmond - General Assembly Building - House Room D
 
The Senate retreat begins in Portsmouth on November 19th.