NARFE NC Federation 2010 Legislative Program AREA II

1. NARFE NC Federation 2010 Legislative Program AREA II

2. GOALS for 2010 • Enlist ALCOs to engage CLOs to move NARFE legislative agenda forward. • Know Legislative Agenda. • Defend Existing Benefits and Entitlements. • Contact national, state and local representatives within Area. • Stay in touch with Federation PAC Chair. • Prepare for May 4 Primary and November 2 Election

3. Area Legislative Contact Officer (ALCO) Six ALCOs in Federation. Principal Contact on legislative Matters Within Area. Establish Network with CLOs. Lead/Develop Area Legislative Program. Keep Area VP and NLO Apprised of Legislative Activity.

4. Legislative Agenda State Legislative Agenda: • Homestead Act • Bailey Settlement Extension • Senior Tar Heel Legislative Priorities

5. Homestead Act • Affects permanent resident seniors 70 years and older who have • Lived in and paid taxes on the property for at least five years. • Freezes tax assessment on property for as long as they live there. • Has Strong NARFE Support • Benefits to the State. • Fairer to seniors with fixed income.

6. Homestead Act (Cont’d) Bill Number: HB-1130 Sponsored by Rep Annie Mobley, Womble. Co-Sponsored by Reps Adams, Blue, Bryant, Earle, Farmer-Butterfield, Fisher, Hall, Holliman, Jones, Parmon, Pierce, Rapp, Starnes, Wray. Referred to Committee on Aging on 4/7/2009. Still needs to pass Judiciary and Finance Committees. Outlook: Up in the Air! NARFE still has to press NC House Reps.

7. Bailey Settlement Extension • Fourth Branch initiated study. • NARFE supports passing a statute to exempt all resident military and government retirees from paying NC tax. • Bill Numbers: H.B.345/S.233 • In-Migration and Retention Incentive. • Benefits: Homes, growth, service, schools, wealth. • All House and Senate Reps have copy of study. • Outlook: Positive

8. Bailey Extension (Cont’d) • Referred to Committee on Finance (Both Houses). • Need to Include in Governor’s Budget. • Need Favorable Report from Revenue Law Committee. • Positive Reaction from the Governor’s Senior and Military Advisors. • Positive Reaction from County Commissioners’ Association • More Meetings scheduled in March and April. • Need NARFE Chapter & Local Political Support. • See Next Slide for Supporters.

9. Bailey Extension (Cont’d) S-233: Primary Sponsor: Sen Hoyle; Co-Sponsor: Sen Jenkins. H-345: Primary Sponsors: Reps Underhill, Cleveland, Glazier, Martin. Co-Sponsors: M.Alexander, Blackwood, Blust, Braxton, Cole, Dickson, Dollar, Faison, Goforth, Gulley, Holloway, Hurley, Killian, Samuelson, Tarleton, Tillis, Wainwright, West, Wiley, Wilkins.

10. Senior Tar Heel Legislature Priorities • C.A.R.E. • Home and Community Care Block Grant • Senior Centers. • Mixing of Populations in Long-Term care facilities. • Know your Senior Tar Heel Legislature Representatives.

11. National Legislative Priorities • Obtaining new sponsors for Premium Conversion tax benefits. • Repealing/Reforming Social Security Offsets (GPO-WEP). • NARFE’s Program for 111th Congress. • Watch Entitlements Carefully, and • Prepare to Defend them.

12. Premium Conversion – New Sponsors • Health premiums have increased by 10%; cost of living by 2%. • Annuitants pay FEHBP premiums with after-tax funds. • Average annuitant loses $820 p/a. (6% of disposable income) • Federal employees are surprised to learn they will no longer receive premium conversion when they retire.

13. GPO/WEP • GPO: Prevents retiree from collecting both a government annuity based on their own work and SS benefits based on their spouse’s work. • Two-thirds of annuity offsets SS benefits. • Adverse affect on low-income widows. • WEP: This SS amendment greatly reduces SS benefit of retiree who also receives government annuity. • Average loss per month: $355 ($4,260 p/a).

14. 111th Congress and NARFE Still in effect until new Congress is sworn in in January (112th Congress). Preserving and Enhancing Existing Benefits still High Priority. Expect further action on Health Care Reform, H.R.3962. FERS With Primaries and General Election Approaching, not a lot will get done.

15. Defending Existing Benefits and Entitlements • 111th Congress must deal with $3.8 trillion President’s budget (deficit neutral?). • Commission on Debt Reduction. • CSRDF might be targeted to help finance other programs. • There are ways our entitlements could be affected in 2010. • Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid shortfalls will be high on agenda. • Health Care. Hold your breath!

16. Contact Your Representative • Federation goal is to contact all national, state, and local representatives in your area. • In NC, there are: Two Senators; 13 District Representatives; 50 NC Senators; and 120 House Districts. • In Area II: Four U.S. Congressional District Reps; 9 NC Senators; and 26 NC House Districts. • Also in Area II: 14 County Commissioners and 14 Representatives to the Senior Tar Heel Legislature.

17. Strategy • Familiarize yourself with talking points. • Find out who sponsors and co-sponsors are of important legislation. • Get new sponsors where none exist. • Identify chapters nearest to all District Offices, County Commissioners and Tar Heel Reps. • Prepare for May 4 Primary. Learn about candidates and provide them info on NARFE. • Follow-up periodically. • Watch for National’s Action Alerts and Gem Messages.

18. Stay in Touch With PAC Chair • The PAC Chair communicates directly with NARFE National. • Co-ordinate and/or recommend PAC activity with/to PAC Chair. • Report all PAC matters to ALCO who will in turn report to NLO (might be some duplication here). • Here again, probably not much activity until the campaign starts after primary results are known. • PAC Chair is Jim Whitten:jlw_bjw@northstate.net

19. Useful Links • NARFE National Website: www.NARFE.ORG • (click on legislative department). • Federal Times Weekly: www.federaltimes.com • Congressional Record: www.gpoaccess.gov/crecord • Federation Website: www.ncnarfe.info • (go to NLO library).

20. Questions? ????