Bill Text: NJ AJR111 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes Review Commission on Benefit Reforms to assess impacts of 2011 public employee pension and health benefit reforms.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-11-18 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State Government Committee [AJR111 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-AJR111-Introduced.html
No. 111
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
215th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED NOVEMBER 18, 2013
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JOSEPH CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
Assemblywoman ANNETTE QUIJANO
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Review Commission on Benefit Reforms to assess impacts of 2011 public employee pension and health benefit reforms.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Joint Resolution establishing the Review Commission on Benefit Reforms to assess the impacts of the 2011 public employee pension and health benefit reforms.
Be It Resolved by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. There is hereby created the Review Commission on Benefit Reforms. The commission shall consist of nine members, four of whom shall be members of the Legislature, one to be appointed by the Senate President; one by the Senate Minority Leader; one by the Speaker of the General Assembly; and one by the Assembly Minority Leader. The remaining five members shall be public members to be appointed by the Governor. Each public member shall be a New Jersey resident having qualified experience, education, or training in the review, administration, or design of pension and health benefit programs. No more than three of the public members shall be of the same political party. No current or former public officer or employee or member of a public employee union shall be appointed as a public member. A vacancy in the commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment was made.
2. It shall be the duty of the commission to review the impacts of the various pension and benefit reforms implemented pursuant to P.L.2011, c.78, to provide an evaluation of these reforms from a fiscal, economic, employment, management, and governmental operations perspective to determine if the reforms have met the stated goals and what the impacts have been, and to make recommendations and formulate proposals for any administrative or legislative changes the commission deems necessary and appropriate given its findings. As part of conducting its review, the commission shall be entitled to the assistance of the Division of Pensions and Benefits and the Division of Investment in the Department of the Treasury for information, expertise, and the preparation of reports. The commission shall also seek the advice and expertise of persons, institutions, organizations, and agencies familiar with the impacts of such reforms in this State, and shall review public employee pension and health benefit reforms in other states.
3. a. The commission's members shall be appointed within 30 days of the effective date of this resolution. The commission shall meet to organize within 30 days after the appointment of its members, shall select a chairperson and a vice-chairperson from among its public members, and shall meet at the call of its chairperson. Official commission action shall be by a majority vote of the membership of the commission.
b. Members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their duties, within the limits of funds made available to it for its purposes.
c. The commission shall be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any State, county or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, agency or authority as it may deem necessary or desirable, and as may be available to it for its purposes.
4. The deliberations of the commission shall conclude with a written report, which shall be transmitted to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), and which shall include its findings and recommendations. The report shall be transmitted no later than six months following the commission's organizational meeting. The commission shall expire once its final report is issued.
5. This joint resolution shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This joint resolution establishes the Review Commission on Benefit Reforms to assess the impacts of the various public employee pension and health benefit reforms implemented pursuant to P.L.2011, c.78. Among other provisions, this law established new pension committees to make certain decisions concerning public benefits offered under the public pension plans in this State, under certain circumstances; increased the employee contribution rates toward pension benefits and the retirement age; established new employee contribution rates toward healthcare benefits for a four-year period; created two new committees with responsibility for health care plan designs; and eliminated automatic cost-of-living adjustments to retiree pension benefits.
The commission would consist of nine members, four of whom would be members of the Legislature, to be appointed one each by the Senate President, the Senate Minority Leader, the Speaker of the General Assembly, and the Assembly Minority Leader. The remaining five members would be public members to be appointed by the Governor. Each public member would be a New Jersey resident having qualified experience, education, or training in the review, administration, or design of pension and health benefit programs. No more than three of the public members would be of the same political party. No current or former public officer or employee or member of a public employee union would be appointed as a public member.
The commission would review the impacts of the various pension and benefit reforms implemented pursuant to P.L.2011, c.78, to provide an evaluation of these reforms from a fiscal, economic, employment, management, and governmental operations perspective to determine if the reforms have met the stated goals and what the impacts have been, and to make recommendations and formulate proposals for any administrative or legislative changes the commission deems necessary and appropriate given its findings. As part of conducting its review, the commission would be entitled to the assistance of the Division of Pensions and Benefits and the Division of Investment for information, expertise, and the preparation of reports. The commission would also seek the advice and expertise of persons, institutions, organizations, and agencies familiar with the impacts of such reforms in this State, and would review public employee pension and health benefit reforms in other states.
The deliberations of the commission would conclude with a written report, which shall be transmitted to the Governor and to the Legislature, and which would include its findings and recommendations. The report would be transmitted no later than six months following the commission's organizational meeting. The commission would expire once its final report is issued.
