HJ0065 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0065 LRB096 13170 AMC 27667 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Governor Quinn and members of the General Assembly have proposed changes in the benefits that are offered to public employees who are members of State-funded pension systems; and

WHEREAS, Seventy-eight percent of all public employees in Illinois do not receive Social Security; and

WHEREAS, The retirement benefits provided by the Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois, the State Universities Retirement System, and the State Employees' Retirement System of Illinois are the primary source of retirement security for public employees; and

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has a duty to thoroughly discuss and analyze the effects of any changes made to the current systems; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Pension System Modernization Task Force; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall be charged with the following tasks:

(1) analyze the public policy implications of changing pension benefits on the State of Illinois' ability to attract and retain public employees, teachers, and University professionals; and

(2) analyze the level of the current pension benefit structure in Illinois as it compares to other states in the geographical region and to other states that have systems that are not coordinated with Social Security; and

(3) analyze the level of benefit programs currently being offered in the private sector of our State; and

(4) analyze the long-term costs of our current systems, including the expected increase in benefit payments, the effects of continued underperformance in the funds' investment portfolio, and the effects of increasing life expectancies on our State-funded systems; and

(5) analyze which pension benefits in Illinois should be modernized; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall be composed of the following:

(1) two legislative members appointed by the Speaker of the House;

(2) two legislative members appointed by the President of the Senate;

(3) two legislative members appointed by the House Minority Leader;

(4) two legislative members appointed by the Senate Minority Leader;

(5) two members who are statewide education labor union representatives;

(6) two members who are statewide labor union representatives that do not represent an education labor union;

(7) four members appointed by the Governor who represent statewide business organizations, including, but not limited to, the organizations representing local chambers of commerce, manufacturers, retail merchants, and independent businesses; and

(8) one member appointed by the Governor who shall act as chair; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the staff of the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability shall be responsible for staffing the Task Force in conjunction with the Illinois pension systems actuaries and staff; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall hold hearings on pension modernization, no less than one per month, between June of 2009 and October of 2009; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall recommend pension benefit changes to modernize these systems; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall report its findings to the General Assembly and the Governor on or before November 1, 2009.