LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin sent a letter to the Kentucky General Assembly on Wednesday, urging legislators to pass his replacement pension bill, and warning of a "financial catastrophe" if they don't.
Specifically, he reminded the legislators that on July 1, the pension contribution that universities, quasi-governmental agencies and their employees will sharply increase.
"This large and currently unbudgeted expense will place a financial strain on all of these organizations," Bevin wrote in the letter dated May 8. "For many of them, the result will be bankruptcy, the elimination of their staff and loss of critical services to Kentucky communities."
Additionally, Bevin said he would not support a one-year rate freeze.
"Last year's freeze, coupled with another one-year rate freeze, will collectively result in more than $250 million in underfunding!" Bevin wrote. "The days of 'kicking the pension can down the road' are over."
Bevin went on to warn of dire consequences if the legislation does not move forward.
"Please understand that failure of the legislature to pass this bill prior to July 1st, 2019, will lead to the discontinuation of many vital services and will result in many of the state employees, whom we are trying to protect, losing their jobs," he wrote. "This does not have to be the case. The ability to save these organizations from financial catastrophe now lies solely in the hands of the 138 legislators receiving this letter."
The full text of the letter is below. Click on the PDF to view the entire letter:
The Republican governor's letter Wednesday comes two days after some top GOP lawmakers said Bevin lacks the votes to push his bill through the legislature.
The governor says he's prepared to convene the special session as soon as enough lawmakers indicate they're prepared to take action.
Bevin and lawmakers are trying to head off a spike in pension costs on July 1 for regional universities as well as many quasi-governmental agencies.
Shortly after the letter was released, House Democratic leaders released a response:
"House Democrats believe we must act to solve the impending negative impact upon quasi-governmental agencies - community mental health care facilities, rape crisis and domestic violence centers, and local health departments. However, this isn’t the solution we or Kentuckians were promised. We continue to believe the pension problem is too large to be solved by the governor and a few people in closed door meetings. We call upon the governor to open the process up to both chambers, both parties, the public, and experts. We stand ready to help solve this. The question isn’t do we need to act- clearly we do. The question is, will we do so in a responsible bipartisan manner?"
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