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Amendment 49 Proposed by Speaker Madigan

Amendment 49 Proposed by Speaker Madigan. This is what it is about. Article XIII, Sec. 5.

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Amendment 49 Proposed by Speaker Madigan

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  1. Amendment 49Proposed by Speaker Madigan This is what it is about

  2. Article XIII, Sec. 5 • “Membership in any pension or retirement system of the State, any unit of local government or school district, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, shall be an enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired.”

  3. Two Clauses from Amendment 49Clause 1 “No bill, except a bill for appropriation, that provides a benefit increase under any pension or retirement system of the State, any unit of local government or school district, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, shall become law without the concurrence of three-fifths of the members of the General Assembly.”

  4. Simple Translation to Clause 1 • A 60% majority of both houses is needed to increase any pension benefit. Thus to change bad provisions of new pension law or any other changes to pensions, some of which were the subject of proposed bills in 2011 and 2012, will necessitate a 60% super majority in both houses.

  5. Clause 2 • “Nothing in this Section shall prevent the passage or adoption of any law, ordinance, resolution, rule, policy, or practice that further restricts the ability to provide a “benefit increase”, “emolument increase”, or “beneficial determination” as those terms are used under this Section.”

  6. Simple Translation for Clause 2 • The GA may take any action that restricts benefit increases. That means: • The COLA is a benefit increase • Possible promotions since they lead to benefit increases. • Overload pay, summertime assignments, overtime, all lead to benefit increases. • Other.

  7. Additional Concerns with Madigan Amendment 49 • The amendment is well over 1000 words and difficult to understand. Language is obtuse and convoluted. • Can’t understand it? Vote NO!

  8. Additional Considerations Continued • Amendment 49 is an addition to Art. XIII Sec. 5. It becomes Art. XIII, Sec. 5.1. • Thus it limits Art. XIII, Sec. 5, and takes precedence over it.

  9. Additional Continued • Amendment 49 creates a loophole for the General Assembly. • The possibility exits for the GA to take away a benefit under Clause 2 from state workers, and then by a 60% vote restore that benefit to themselves, or to increase a benefit for themselves or some other valued group. • This is precisely how some pension abuses occurred in the first place.

  10. Bottom LineAmendment does not do what it purports to do • Allows GA to cut benefits while reward its own members. • Does not do away with pension abuses by GA members and other favored friends. • We could lose our COLA, GA could keep theirs. • Our members remain in Tier 2, GA could eliminate Tier 2 for their members.

  11. The End Of • Our pension benefits as we know them. • The ability to recruit and retain teachers, researchers, and professionals for community colleges and public universities. • Public education attracting the best and most committed to the teaching profession, when education is the top priority in this country as it seeks economic re-vitalization.

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