NJ Cops Jan19 | Page 10

LEGISLATIVE REPORT Looking ahead to a busy 2019 There are a few certainties you can count on in life. The sun will rise and set every day. Jersey summers will be humid. And the New Jersey State Legislature will never be out of session. This year will be the second of the two- year legislative session and a great deal of ROB NIXON activity will happen legislatively and politi- cally in Trenton during the next 12 months. Major policy issues will be decided, pensions and benefits will be debated and a critical election will take place. All of that impacts NJ State PBA members, and the work we do behind the scenes and in the hallways of the State House will affect what it means to you. There will be no lack of serious issues confronting us this year. There can be little question that a debate will take place again about pensions and, more likely, the cost of healthcare benefits provided to public employees in New Jersey. This is especially true of any benefit that is funded through the state budget. The state budget must be balanced every year, and pen- sions and benefit costs are always a major chunk of it. It is therefore a high-profile line item that will forever be scru- tinized. Roughly one-fifth of State PBA members are state employees and their paychecks, pension contributions and healthcare costs are more than just numbers in a budget. So state budget discussions on these matters always be- come more universal debates, and we can expect 2019 to see more of the same. There will be continued analysis of the “Pathway to Prog- ress” report, which calls for more pension reforms and healthcare changes. State PBA members should be aware that this report specifically excludes PFRS from any pen- sion changes, and there is no discussion of eliminating the powers and financial controls of the new PFRS Board of Trustees. But there certainly will be discussions about healthcare costs. The cost of healthcare is a major priority for the State PBA, too. Thanks to the expertise and leadership of NJ State PBA Health Benefits Coordinator Kevin Lyons, healthcare costs have actually been reduced without the need for ben- efit changes. The State PBA is currently discussing a pack- age of issues that seek to address the way that healthcare providers and insurance companies do business. It will be our position in any healthcare discussion that Chapter 78 10 NEW JERSEY COPS ■ JANUARY 2019 and employee contributions have unfairly distracted the debate from the often unregulated and unknown billing and price controls of the healthcare industry. The State PBA will be presenting our analysis of concepts that could save the state billions of dollars. The State PBA will also be focusing on finishing up a number of bills we initiated for this session. Our proposal to expand the Class 3 law to ensure that every PFRS mem- ber is eligible into retirement has already passed the As- sembly and is awaiting final passage by the State Senate. We also plan to move the bill renaming county correc- tions officers as correctional police. We have requested movement on legislation to streamline the training needed for a corrections officer to become a sheriff’s officer. And we plan to pursue our bill to mandate that Class 2 specials retire by the age of 65. The State PBA is also working with Retired Members Lo- cal 600 and federal and state law enforcement profession- als to address gaps and confusion between the New Jersey retiree carry law and LEOSA (HR 218). And 2019 will be notable as the year the PFRS Board of Trustees takes control of the pension system. Starting Feb. 1, the new board will organize to hire senior staff, advisors, investment specialists and formulate the policies that will govern the system. It is the most important year since the formation of the PFRS in 1944, and the decisions the board makes now will help guide the PFRS back to full funding in the future. Finally, this November, all 80 members in the Assembly will be up for election. It is rare for the Assembly to be at the top of the ticket with no federal or other state races on the ballot. It is also Governor Murphy’s midterm and, as is often the case, such an election can serve as a measuring stick of performance. Combine that with the reality that this election will have a low turnout, so both the Democrats and Republicans will be hard at work to win. On every one of these matters, the leadership of the State PBA is not only required but expected. And leadership is exactly what we will bring to Trenton in 2019. It’s another thing that you can always count on.