House Judiciary kills bill to give PERSI boost to certain juvenile officers and emergency dispatchers
After an emotional hearing that stretched for close to two hours on Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee this afternoon voted to kill legislation proposed by the state Department of Juvenile Corrections and the Association of Idaho Counties to grant law enforcement officer status for retirement purposes to POST-certified officers who work in juvenile detention, juvenile probation, misdemeanor probation and emergency communication.
The question is whether PERSI’s Rule of 90 for calculating when an employee is retirement eligible, or the Rule of 80 that applies to law enforcement officers, which allows them to retire sooner, should apply (PERSI has an explainer here on how each rule works). The committee heard detailed stories of how emergency dispatchers help talk people through life-threatening situations, and the challenges and stresses faced by officers who work with juvenile offenders.
“I don’t think anyone feels that these groups did not deserve to have the Rule of 80,” said Rep. Luke Malek, R-Coeur d’Alene, who made the unsuccessful motion to pass the bill out of committee. “It’s just a concern about what the policy implications are.” Malek’s motion died on a 4-12 vote. A substitute motion from Rep. Ryan Kerby, R-New Plymouth, to send the bill, HB 21, to the House’s amending order to reconsider which groups are included also failed; only Kerby supported it.
Rep. Lynn Luker, R-Boise, the committee chairman, said, “I think there were too many groups that were included, everyone from detention officers to dispatchers. I think the committee felt those should be considered more individually.” Plus, he said he has some concerns about the “integrity of the system,” though he said of PERSI, “We have a good system.” Rep. Greg Chaney, R-Caldwell, called it a "difficult vote;" he posted his reasoning online here.
The annual cost to the state of the change was estimated at just $37,000 a year; to the counties, about $145,600. Both the employees and employers involved would have paid a slightly higher rate in their contributions to the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho to fund the change.
Asked if a modified proposal might come forward, Luker said, "I think it's closed for this year."
