Comité Retirement del Senado, 17 de febrero de 2026

Transcripción

223 turnos. Seleccione un tiempo para reproducir ese momento del video.

1. 0:18:51

   Senator Harbin, would you like to lead us in a prayer?

2. 0:18:54

   I can, sir.

3. 0:18:58

   You got me. There we go. Okay. If you will, let's pray. Lord, we thank you for this day. We thank you for life, liberty, and Father, the, just the blessings that you have blessed us with. We ask that you would give us wisdom in the, in the meetings today, that we would, uh, represent the people of Georgia, and that, Father, we would do that which is good for the people. We, we ask your blessings in the name of Jesus. Amen.

4. 0:19:19

   Amen. Thank you very much. Let's see. On our agenda, we've got Senator Rhett, Senate Bill 11. You've worked hard and patiently, and we've had to move you around a few times, so we're gonna let you come up to the front, and we're gonna

5. 0:19:40

   let you speak on behalf of the veterans here, Senator Rhett.

6. 0:19:44

   Thank you. I really appreciate that.

7. 0:19:47

   Well, you got the big gun with you, so okay.

8. 0:19:54

   Give me just a second here. Uh, Senate Bill-

9. 0:19:59

   Senate Bill 11

10. 0:20:01

    ... 11.

11. 0:20:01

    We're working off LC56-0215.

12. 0:20:08

    Yes, sir. This bill will allow... And this is my friend. Go ahead and introduce yourself.

13. 0:20:14

    Hold your microphone down, too, so we can make sure and pick you up. Good. Thank you. Okay.

14. 0:20:21

    Uh, Jim Potvin, Executive Director, Employees Retirement System.

15. 0:20:25

    Okay.

16. 0:20:25

    And I'm not Senator Rhett. I work here.

17. 0:20:27

    Yes, sir.

18. 0:20:31

    This bill will allow certain military members to obtain credible service towards retirement benefits month for month, up to 36 months. It will provide application and payment procedure for eligible military service members. Basically, what the bill does is, I'll just tell you in a nutshell, if you're a veteran and you work for the state 10 years, you're eligible to buy up to three years into the retirement system.

19. 0:21:02

    We sent out a fiscal note, an actuarial note, and they both came back at no cost to the state. The person who buys back the years, they have to f- pay for the whole cost, not the state. And that person has to have s- served at least 10, uh, served in the military, honorably discharged, and have a job working for the state. And if they're working for the state, they were able to buy into the ERS, the, the retirement system, up to one, two, three years.

20. 0:21:33

    And they have to fund it at full cost themself. They can make a, uh, one lump service, I mean payment, or they can make, uh, installments. And that's pretty much the bill in a nutshell.

21. 0:21:48

    All right. Any member have any questions for Senator Rhett?

22. 0:21:56

    Don't see any questions. Is there, um, any comments? What is the will of the committee?

23. 0:22:07

    Senator Harbin.

24. 0:22:08

    Yes. Uh, at the appropriate time, I move that we pass, uh, SB11.

25. 0:22:13

    And I will second at the appropriate time.

26. 0:22:14

    Okay. Well, now would be the appropriate time. We have a motion by Senator Harbin, second by Senator Orrock. Any comments, questions, discussion? All in favor say aye.

27. 0:22:28

    Aye.

28. 0:22:29

    Any opposed? So carried. Thank you very much.

29. 0:22:32

    Thank you. Thank you.

30. 0:22:33

    Senator Rhett, thank you, and on behalf of all the veterans, thank you for what you do, and thank you for your service.

31. 0:22:39

    Thank you. It's a good bill, and it can help us to recruit and retain veterans.

32. 0:22:43

    Yes, sir.

33. 0:22:44

    Thank you.

34. 0:22:44

    Thank you. All righty. Moving right along. Senator Albers, I believe you're next on the menu.

35. 0:22:54

    We're having, uh, Senate Bill 198

36. 0:23:01

    and LC56-0312. And the floor is yours, sir.

37. 0:23:11

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman and committee members for indulging me once again, and this should be about the easiest bill we, uh, pass this legislative session. This revolves around our legislative retirement system that, uh, I believe everybody participates in. What this does is it allows, uh, the folks, uh, like Mr. Potvin behind me in the, to manage that and keep the fund always at 120% funded, which will assure two things. One, it is always over, uh, we financially, uh, capable of handling it, and they will be able to adjust the benefits accordingly, uh, as the fund is typically, uh, over-funded.

38. 0:23:47

    And it keeps the legislature out of having to look at that and review that every few years, uh, and assures there'll never be any state tax dollars, and it'll just be paid by the members as it always has been, and it will always stay that way. I'll be happy to yield for questions.

39. 0:24:03

    Okay. Does, let's see. Senator McLaurin.

40. 0:24:08

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Senator, I feel like you bring a lot of uncontroversial bills to this committee, so I'll ask you a different question. Do you know who took my black coat out of the ante room today from the Senate?

41. 0:24:17

    That's a very good question. I can't say for sure, but I'm, I may have seen Senator Orrock wearing something that looks similar. I'm not positive.

42. 0:24:25

    Thank you. You yield for further questions?

43. 0:24:27

    I'd be honored to, yes, sir.

44. 0:24:28

    You know, if you think about an Air Tag as sort of like an variable tax that you have to put in every coat to make sure that it doesn't get purloined by a colleague, that seems like an expensive way to secure your own objects, don't you think?

45. 0:24:38

    But, but a very tech-savvy, smart individual might just make that investment.

46. 0:24:42

    Might be a go-forward thing to consider. Thanks for your bill.

47. 0:24:44

    My pleasure.

48. 0:24:45

    How, how much money was in the pocket there, Senator McLaurin?

49. 0:24:48

    You know, I don't keep cash in my overcoat. Um, I, well, I should say it's in the overcoat in the sense that it's gonna put me back about 500 bucks, but other than that.

50. 0:24:55

    Okay.

51. 0:24:57

    Yeah. Well, if, if we, see if we had a gold and silver standard, maybe I'd be less concerned. Who knows? Thanks.

52. 0:25:04

    Any questions on the bill? Senate Bill 198.

53. 0:25:10

    Well, at the appropriate time, the chair will entertain a motion. Yes, sir, Senator Steutler.

54. 0:25:18

    Do pass motion.

55. 0:25:19

    Oh, do, uh, motion do pass. Okay, sir. Thank you very much. Yeah. Do I have a second?

56. 0:25:24

    Second right here.

57. 0:25:26

    Have a second from McLaren, Senator McLaren. Any discussion? All in favor say, aye.

58. 0:25:32

    Aye.

59. 0:25:32

    Aye.

60. 0:25:33

    Any opposed? So carried. Thank you very much.

61. 0:25:37

    Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, committee members.

62. 0:25:39

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. All right, next on our agenda is Senator Goodman. Now, Senator Goodman, you're welcome to present from up here if you'd like. You're certainly welcome to do that. And, uh, we're gonna be talking about Senate Bill 209, LC number 560298. And I understand what this will be for a hearing only.

63. 0:26:09

    Mm-hmm.

64. 0:26:10

    There's some discussion about the, uh, actuarial study, and there's also some questions about maybe amending this bill-

65. 0:26:20

    Yes, sir

66. 0:26:21

    ... to allowing certain things to take place. So, uh, let's just do this for vetting this bill, and then we'll come back and maybe take it at our next meeting for official action. So the floor is yours at this time, sir.

67. 0:26:37

    Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, there's, uh, Senate Bill 209 was, was brought, uh, uh, brought to me by my superintendents back home. And, uh, one of the things that they struggle with is, is, uh, retention, you know, with, uh, um, school bus drivers, custodial staff, uh, you know, the, the, the folks that, that currently, um, are not allowed to participate in the State Teachers' Retirement System. Of course, last year we presented the bill and, and this committee graciously allowed us to, to allow it to go for actuarial study.

68. 0:27:08

    Mm-hmm.

69. 0:27:09

    And, uh, what the bill does is for all the folks that pr- are eligible to participate in the Public School Employees' Retirement System, that, that, uh, they would have a, a one-time, uh, option of being able to participate in the Teacher Retirement System of Georgia. And the, the actuarial study came back and, and you'll see it in your folders, members of the committee. It, it shows that there is no cost to the Teacher Retirement System. Um, there is a, uh, increase in cost to the local school systems.

70. 0:27:40

    You'll see that in that actuarial study as well. I believe it's .02%, which I believe works out to be about $300 a month. Um, and I was reading this bill, uh, today and of course, you know, going through it and going through it, and I wanna, I wanna thank, uh, Ben, our, um, counsel for this committee. Uh, he has really helped me a lot. And, uh, I went and saw him today, uh, because my understanding was, was that the, uh, in the bill, the way we had it drafted was that it was, um, which was my mistake, but that, uh, local jurisdictions would be able to have the option of either opting in or opting out of it.

71. 0:28:19

    Mm-hmm.

72. 0:28:19

    Because if we require it, if we require it, then it becomes an unfunded mandate, right? Now, I do believe that most systems will want to do that because $300 a month, of course, is gonna make, you know... When it, uh, it's a small price to pay for how's, how's, how much it can help in retention. Um-

73. 0:28:37

    Now, that's $300 per month per employee.

74. 0:28:41

    Yes, sir.

75. 0:28:41

    Okay.

76. 0:28:41

    That's exactly right. That's exactly right. Um, but the bill, what, what we've come back with, and I was talking, uh, and Mr. Chairman, if you don't mind, uh, I'd like to ask Jason Branch if he would come up. Uh, is that okay with you, Mr. Chairman?

77. 0:28:55

    Sure.

78. 0:28:55

    Um-

79. 0:28:55

    By all means, come right on up and flavor

80. 0:28:56

    ... and, and Ja- Jason can speak to it. But what we, and, and the, the latest draft that, uh, that, uh, Ben's been working on, they had the option to, the local jurisdictions had the option to opt in or opt out. The, one of the things from talking to our friends, uh, that run these funds is that we need to make it where they can either opt in and stay in or stay out, that you can't opt in and out. So that's what we've been working on with, um, with Ben. And hopefully we're gonna be able to... Ben, would you say you think we'll be able to come up with some, some language that, to that effect, uh-

81. 0:29:30

    Before the next hearing, yeah

82. 0:29:31

    ... yeah, before the next hearing. Um, there again, the cost is zero. And actually it, it benefits the, the Public School Employee Retirement System 'cause people move out of it. Um, but, um, like I say, that's basically what the bill does. It'll allow those folks to, to be able to participate in the Teacher Retirement System, um, one time, irrevocable. Um, they cannot transfer their years of service from that system into Teacher Retirement System. Um, and they can allow their money to stay in that system, but once they change over, they cannot put any more money into the, the Public School Employee Retirement System.

83. 0:30:09

    Um, and so I apologize that, uh... One, thank you for hearing the bill. So to let everybody get their minds wrapped around it, but we're just working on that last little bit of, uh, language.

84. 0:30:17

    Let, let me ask you this. Is this something that could be a, an employee match possibly, that the employer or the school system could put in a, uh, a half or then the employee could have payroll deduction to go along with it? Uh, is that what this is possibly doing, like a regular-

85. 0:30:40

    Uh-

86. 0:30:40

    ... IRA or 401 at a, at a business or something? Could that happen?

87. 0:30:47

    Uh, as it's currently drafted, it would have the, you know, 6%, uh, employee portion already, uh, that the employee would have to put in. That is a substantial increase for the employee prior to what they've already been putting in.

88. 0:31:01

    What I understand, these employees haven't been putting anything in

89. 0:31:05

    Well, they've been putting it into the Public School Employee Retirement System-

90. 0:31:09

    PSERS. Okay

91. 0:31:10

    ... not the Teacher Retirement System. So they have been, they have been, uh, contributing, but they've been contributing to the PSERS.

92. 0:31:17

    Okay.

93. 0:31:18

    And I can tell you that, you know, especially, uh, Representative Corbett, who served on the school board for 12, 12 years in Nicholas County, was telling me that, I mean, they've got school bus drivers that have worked for 30 years, and then you find out, you know, you know, they get ready to retire and what their retirement is, um-

94. 0:31:36

    Doesn't sustain them

95. 0:31:37

    ... doesn't sustain them. And, and, you know, I was kind of shocked at some of the figures he told me. And so if we can do this, and it comes at no cost, um, to the Teacher Retirement System, but allow these school... I, I mean, I sort of believe, and to your point, it's $300, um, a month. That's why I'm, I, I, I think that it would be, uh, judicious of us to ma- allow the systems to be able to decide whether or not they wanted to, to do it or not. But I can tell you, if I'm a school superintendent and I'm dealing with, uh, you know, trying to keep bus drivers, and trying to keep custodial staff, and everything else, $300 a month per employee, I think it could eliminate a lot of my problems.

96. 0:32:19

    And so...

97. 0:32:20

    Yeah. Uh, you may be like me. We ride through these rural counties, and there's a school bus parked beside the road, and there's a sign saying, "School bus drivers wanted and needed"-

98. 0:32:31

    That's right

99. 0:32:31

    ... practically in every county all over the state.

100. 0:32:34

     Mm-hmm.

101. 0:32:34

     So, uh, this may be a way to, uh, do that. Uh, Senator Orrock, you have a question?

102. 0:32:40

     Uh, well, thank you. Uh, thank you, Mr. Chair, for, for hearing the bill. Thank you for bringing the bill to the author. And, uh, I, I, I do think there's questions that will p- probably deepen our understanding of this-

103. 0:32:54

     Mm-hmm

104. 0:32:54

     ... uh, you know, and, and, and take a formal action at the next meeting. But th- my first question is, who all is covered in... You know, w- we got on a whole array of, uh, job descriptions and job titles of, of folks in the, at public education that are not teachers. So d- does, does anybody have a,

105. 0:33:18

     a, a, able to kind of bring some detail to that? I'm, I'm always concerned that the paraprofessionals, for example, uh, in the school system are, mm, y- y- you know, they're, they're, uh, I think poorly served by the current system. And I, and they would be in... Would they be included in this cohort that would be eligible? I, I just, you know, the, the, the, that's, I don't know the answer to that.

106. 0:33:45

     Yes, uh, Senator, I, I don't know what the full list of occupations are of those that are able to participate in PSERS. Does, is there, would you mind, would you mind coming up? Is that okay, Mr. Chairman?

107. 0:33:56

     Sure. Bob, Bob-

108. 0:33:57

     To provide some clarity?

109. 0:33:58

     ...

110. 0:34:02

     forward please.

111. 0:34:02

     Senator, uh, parapros are covered under TRS currently.

112. 0:34:08

     They are?

113. 0:34:08

     Yes, ma'am. The, uh, I think nine, what we would call in the school district, uh, classified staff that are nonsupervisory is kind of what I think Senator Goodman's trying to get to in terms of bus drivers, maintenance workers, custodial staff. Those are the individuals that currently don't qualify for TRS, uh, because they don't hold a supervisory position. If you're a supervisor in those areas, you do qualify for TRS. So they would be-

114. 0:34:38

     Uh-huh

115. 0:34:38

     ... under the PSERS.

116. 0:34:39

     Yeah. So he pretty much got it. Um, also cafeteria workers, uh, so kind of the infrastructure employees that maintain the school, and grounds, and the buses, and that kind of thing.

117. 0:34:49

     But the para- the, the paraprofessionals are in the category of being, the current, have, they have current eligibility for the Teachers' Retirement System?

118. 0:34:59

     Yes, ma'am, because they, uh, provide supervisory, uh, they provide supervision over students.

119. 0:35:06

     Sure, sure. Oh, I see.

120. 0:35:08

     Yes, ma'am.

121. 0:35:08

     Who... Yeah, uh, uh-huh. Thank you. Thank you. Uh, that's helpful.

122. 0:35:15

     Okay, sir.

123. 0:35:18

     I guess, uh, on, on two different fronts, but first trying to understand, um, the bill here when we talk about the legislation which would result in a first year cost to the Teacher Retirement System of 21,139,000, which would be partially offset by the reduction of public schools by 5,655,000. Um, I mean, it sounds like there's some cost there. And it says on page two of the, of the, uh, fiscal note that approximately 50% of any future costs will be paid through state appropriations.

124. 0:35:59

     Um, now I'm just not sure. I mean, I know what we're saying is they're the same ratio as everybody else, but this has been a, a really expensive plan, which I've quite frankly fought to keep for the teachers, but, but for a retaining thing. But yet we're putting in, in the category of a lot of other people that will then have, you know, this, this probably the best plan out there. And then we've got so many other state employees who are not under a defined benefit, but d- defined contribution.

125. 0:36:37

     You know, are we jumping some people ahead of them? Uh, I'm just not sure about the fairness of it, I guess, is what I'm, I'm saying as well as the cost. We've, we put a ton of money into this TRS system, and it's a good plan, but yet I'm, I'm afraid this could increase the money. Is, could somebody tell me where I'm wrong on that or?

126. 0:36:59

     May I respond to that, Mr. Chairman?

127. 0:37:01

     Sure.

128. 0:37:01

     Um, I, I, you know, and I've read what you read too. Um- Senator, um, I would, I would, uh, and I'm sure there's people here that can speak to this with greater authority than I can, but I would... What I, what I looked at and kind of latched onto was exhi- exhibit A in the teacher retirement system, where it's got the, uh, before the legislation and after that legislation, and the increased cost due to the legislation. And you'll see that it's zero, zero, zero. And then you get down to the, to the, uh, uh, the annual contribution, the employer contribution rate, uh, the increase would be .02%.

129. 0:37:39

     And so I'm reading that to understand that it is no... The legislation, uh, has zero cost to the system. Is, is, and that's the way that I'm interpreting it, and that's the exhibit that, that I've got.

130. 0:37:51

     Exhibit A?

131. 0:37:52

     Yes, ma'am. Exhibit A.

132. 0:37:54

     But we're putting in cost already. And I mean, I know it's a .02 difference, but it's gonna be for more people we'd be putting in, it seems like to me. These, these things are always really difficult for me, because actuarial notes do the same formula, but they don't really say truly is there gonna be additional cost to the state.

133. 0:38:21

     Um, I'll do my best to try to clear this up a little bit. Um, so what the actuarial report's saying is in fact that the ADEC will increase by a very nominal-

134. 0:38:32

     Can you talk a little louder?

135. 0:38:33

     That the, the ADEC, the contribution rate, will increase by a very nominal amount. It also says that there will be, in their estimate, about 11,000 people that would make the, the decision to make the switch. Um, it says that there is no additional unfunded liability, because these people are all starting from zero. They're all, like, all new hires, right? They don't have any service that they're bringing. They're not automatic, right? So they'll accrue going forward.

136. 0:39:04

     Um, that's an increase to the normal cost that will come into the system. I believe that's where the $21 million per year is coming from. So they're suggesting that 11,000 people, whatever the normal cost increase, will result in an annual increase coming in of approximately, looks like $21.1 million.

137. 0:39:23

     Mr. Chairman, may I ask a question?

138. 0:39:25

     Sure.

139. 0:39:25

     Um, what is the average retirement for, say, a school bus driver that retires with a, uh, under the current system that they're operating in under the PSERS?

140. 0:39:37

     Dollar amount?

141. 0:39:37

     Mm-hmm.

142. 0:39:39

     Um, a little over $300, I believe.

143. 0:39:42

     Right around $300 per month. So I just want the committee to understand that you got people that work their life. You know, you have teachers, but all these other people are just as important to have in school as the teachers are. You know, you have to have people get them there. You have to have people to feed them and everything.

144. 0:39:58

     And clean up. Mm-hmm.

145. 0:39:59

     And clean up and everything else. So you're talking about someone that's dedicated their life to the educating of our chi- education of our children that are retiring and getting $300 a month. And I just believe if we have the opportunity to help that, I think, I think it's the right thing to do, and I think it'll help our, he- help our, those that are running our schools across the state.

146. 0:40:19

     Those employees, uh, the 11,000, do I understand that a lot of them are not covered by Social Security, that some school systems didn't pay in Social Security on those people, so they may not be getting any Social Security or Medicare?

147. 0:40:39

     There are systems that opted out of Social Security, yes, sir.

148. 0:40:44

     Ooh, okay.

149. 0:40:49

     So that would be hard to live off $300 a month.

150. 0:40:54

     Well, as you said, it, it-

151. 0:40:56

     Yeah

152. 0:40:57

     ... impossible would be a, a, a more accurate way to put it.

153. 0:40:58

     You'd have to, yeah, you'd have to move back in with your children. Yeah. Yeah. Anybody else have any comments or questions or...

154. 0:41:07

     I, I, I guess, s- s- so some of the, s- some of the, uh, the, the employees, s- s- sorry, uh, Mr. Chairman. Some of the, some of the employees, uh, work partial hours and some work more than partial hours.

155. 0:41:22

     Yes, ma'am. So-

156. 0:41:22

     Does it maybe shed any light on that?

157. 0:41:23

     Yeah. Um, so in, under this legislation, they would have to be at least half-time to be able to participate, to participate in the program. Um, so may I ask one more question?

158. 0:41:35

     Mm-hmm. Sure.

159. 0:41:35

     Because, um, what would, uh, say, someone that works 30 years driving a bus... I know some of them, you know, drive a bus and then do custodial work during the day and drive a bus. But just say-

160. 0:41:45

     Oh, okay

161. 0:41:45

     ... you're driving a bus and, you know, you're part-time, uh, and that person puts in 30 years. What will be the difference under this system you think? And I'm not, as I say, uh, to people all the time, you know, throw the dart at the wall. But right now, if it's currently $300, and if that person works 30 years, what will it be-

162. 0:42:02

     Under the new-

163. 0:42:03

     ... under the, under the teacher retirement system?

164. 0:42:04

     So I'm gonna do this in my head. Please don't hold me to the numbers exactly.

165. 0:42:08

     Absolutely not. Yeah.

166. 0:42:09

     A 30-year employee under PSERS who retires tomorrow at $17 per month per year of service would get $510 per month as a life annuity. If they chose an option that covered a beneficiary, it'd be somewhat less than that. Um, if I make a... What's an average salary for these people? 20,000 a year? 25,000 a year?

167. 0:42:28

     22,000, 20-

168. 0:42:29

     Let's call it 20 so I can do the, the math a little bit. Um, a $20,000 times 30 years, that'd be 60% of $20,000. They would earn a pension of $12,000, basically $1,000 per month. So they would roughly double the pension available to them under the TRS. Um, I will say that comes at a cost. So their contribution in the current system is $90 per year total. Their co- their contribution under TRS would be 6% of their salary, which is $3,000 per year.

169. 0:43:03

     So, you know, 30 times the cost to them- For double the pension. Some may find that worth it, some may not. I don't know. That doesn't count the employer contribution that's there as well. So there are a lot of moving parts here, um, to, to consider.

170. 0:43:18

     Thank you. Senator Mangham.

171. 0:43:23

     Senator Orrock, uh, kinda started on my question. What is the average, does the average bus driver, for example, are they part-time and they do custodial work? And how many hours a week do they put in? Uh, because we do need reliable people for our children, and I could see the need to ... $300 a month is just, is not gonna make it. But how many hours, how many are full-time, how many are part-time, or what does the average person look like?

172. 0:44:00

     What are they?

173. 0:44:02

     So I'm a recently retired s- school system superintendent, and we guaranteed five hours for our bus drivers each day. So they would make it at least 25 hours a week regardless of, you know, how much time their route ran, specifically additional duties and responsibilities. You also did have some that we called dual employment, which also allowed them to drive the bus, drop the kids off, and then take a, a second opportunity to be a custodian or something of that nature.

174. 0:44:34

     That required time and a half based on the, you know, overtime laws that were in place. And so they could, they could make a significant amount more doing that. Not all did. Uh, so most would either just be a custodian or just be a maintenance worker or just be a, a cafeteria worker or bus driver. Uh, not necessarily multiple options, but that is something that many school systems have started, uh, based on the fact that it is very, very difficult to find people in these positions and maintain these people in these positions.

175. 0:45:09

     Uh, yeah. And Mr. Chair, the, the s- the cafeteria workers in particular, what kinda hours? Is that similar with the 25 hours, or how does that work?

176. 0:45:19

     Yeah. Usually a- at least four hours, uh, an individual, and then it just depends on ... It's an enterprise fund, so it depends on meals served, how you're staffed. But you go anywhere from four to eight depending on-

177. 0:45:33

     Okay

178. 0:45:33

     ... uh, the number of meals served and the number of staff members.

179. 0:45:36

     Okay. Thank you.

180. 0:45:38

     Mr. Powell.

181. 0:45:39

     And I apologize, Mr. Chairman, I knew it-

182. 0:45:41

     No. Go right ahead.

183. 0:45:42

     I, uh, misstated the employee contribution. It would not be 3,000 a year. It would be $1,200 a year. Still substantially increased, but not as much as I said.

184. 0:45:51

     Okay. Let's see. Senator Harbin.

185. 0:45:56

     Just curious. Um, if you opt out of Social Security for those systems that have opted out, is there also the, is there a provision for them for coverage for Medicare, Medicaid when they reach age there? Because our current healthcare system, if you will, if you're not qualified under Social Security, does not provide coverage. Does that same thing apply to these people who are in systems that are not covered under Social Security?

186. 0:46:21

     I'm not a, I'm not aware of the specifics of that, so I would have to research that and, and get back to you on that particular piece. I just know that in the system that I led, th- there was an opportunity several decades ago for school systems to opt out of Social Security-

187. 0:46:37

     Right

188. 0:46:38

     ... and, and some did. And so there were other opportunities for saving plans and different pieces of that nature. But yeah.

189. 0:46:45

     If I can add to that, um, everybody is required to either be in Social Security or in a qualified Social Security replacement plan.

190. 0:46:53

     Right.

191. 0:46:53

     So in those counties where the school systems have opted out of Social Security, presumably there is some kind of another plan in place, either a DC or a defined benefit plan that would, that would take the role of a qualified Social Security replacement plan. I don't have any-

192. 0:47:10

     Right

193. 0:47:11

     ... real data on that.

194. 0:47:12

     Uh, just, just in this portion, I know that when a minister chooses to opt out of Social Security, they have a problem when they reach retirement age as far as medical care, as far as that. And so that's why I was asking the question, is the same thing that occurs with ... In, in a ... If you're in an employment system of the school that is not covered under Social Security, do they run into the same issue? And that would be something I think that needs to be looked at just simply because that's a major issue in, in the cases that I've dealt with in the past. Either a spouse was working somewhere else, but in the case where someone's not married, that makes a difference.

195. 0:47:47

     So I'd just bring that up as something you may wanna look at futuristically.

196. 0:47:51

     Yes, sir.

197. 0:47:51

     Thank you. Appreciate it.

198. 0:47:55

     Anyone else have any comments, questions? We have someone signed up, Mr. Edward Lindsey is signed up to speak to this. So, uh, if one, one or both of you gentlemen like to take, move to the bench and Mr. Lindsey can come to the-

199. 0:48:12

     Actually, I can do it in about two seconds, Mr. Chairman

200. 0:48:14

     ... come to the table. Thank you.

201. 0:48:16

     I just, um, um, my name is Edward Lindsey. For the record, I'm, I rep- I am with the law firm of Dentons, and we represent DeKalb County School System. I just simply want to say on behalf of DeKalb County School System how much we support this bill. We, uh, we believe very strongly that the bill will enhance our ability to hold good, qualified, uh, personnel who are filling very vital positions for our students. And we thank, uh, we thank the senator for bringing the bill.

202. 0:48:47

     Do you know how many employees DeKalb County would have to qualify?

203. 0:48:53

     I do not know. We are the third-largest school system in the state, though.

204. 0:48:57

     By the next meeting, could you have that information?

205. 0:48:59

     I can get you that. I can get you that, or I'll get you any other information you may want.

206. 0:49:02

     All right.

207. 0:49:02

     I'd be happy, I'd be happy to do so.

208. 0:49:04

     Thank you. Thank you very much. Um, does anyone have any questions of Mr. Lindsey?

209. 0:49:11

     Third largest. The three largest are Fulton-

210. 0:49:15

     Uh, Gwinnett, Cobb, and then DeKalb. I believe that's-

211. 0:49:18

     And then I guess Fulton comes in fourth.

212. 0:49:19

     I believe that.

213. 0:49:20

     Mm-hmm.

214. 0:49:21

     That, that's how it was explained to me. Thank you.

215. 0:49:23

     Thank you, Mr. Lindsey. Anyone else have any comments? Senator Goodman, again, thank you for bringing this. Uh, on behalf of, uh, our em- school, public school employees all over the state of Georgia, I realize that, uh, this is something that's needed. Thank you very much, committee, for your dedication and your questions and, uh-

216. 0:49:50

     Can I offer a footnote, Mr. Chairman?

217. 0:49:51

     Certainly. Yes, ma'am. Go right ahead.

218. 0:49:53

     Uh, just for, for historical purposes and reflection as we look at where this bill goes going forward, uh, Jack Hill's daddy was down here for years before, way before Jack got here, and he was here advocating on behalf of the school bus drivers of Georgia. And Speaker Murphy heard his plea, and things improved somewhat for the school bus drivers, but that still requires our attention.

219. 0:50:27

     Mm-hmm. Thank you very much for that. That was before my time.

220. 0:50:31

     Right. You were busy elsewhere.

221. 0:50:35

     Yeah, that's what it was. I was elsewhere. Being no other business before the committee, we will stand adjourned. Thank y'all very much.

222. 0:50:46

     Thank you.

223. 0:50:46

     Yes, ma'am.