The debate is hot and heavy in the House on HCR 42, the measure to block a scheduled 1 percent cost of living increase for state retirees next month. So far, Democrats are debating against the measure, and Republicans in favor of it. "The issue here is whose money is this," said Rep. Branden Durst, D-Boise. "Is this the general fund's money? ... This isn't the taxpayers' money. This is the money of the retirees and the people that are working as our state employees, this is their money, and if the person that they keep in charge of managing their money thinks that this is a wise investment, then they should have the right to get the increase that those experts expect them to."

Rep. Fred Wood, R-Burley, said, "People have argued that the PERSI board has all of the wisdom in the world. ... We've heard for the last 30 years that there's all kinds of financial wizards on Wall Street. ... We know what that did, and all of the brainpower on Wall Street, look where that got us in the last two years."

Rep. Erik Simpson, R-Idaho Falls, argued that the 1 percent COLA will mean a much higher increase in PERSI contribution rates in 2012, though PERSI says a 1.5 percent increase will be needed with or without the COLA. Rep. Dennis Lake, R-Blackfoot, said, "It seems inconsistent policy to give state employees a COLA while we are requiring active employees to take furloughs and possible negative CEC." Lake said he disagrees with the PERSI board that earnings will bounce back from the current downturn and thus the COLA is prudent. "If you believe that, you probably also believe that the economy is going to improve in the next year or so," Lake told the House. "It's not, I think, going to happen, and I think we take a huge risk to make that assumption."

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