Brief (1)
House Sub. for SB 40 would amend current law regarding state personnel policies, employee compensation, and certain employee benefits. The bill would implement five changes relative to state employees and related state policies.
First, the bill would repeal the state's 1993 retirement reduction law prescribing that no more than three out of four positions vacated due to retirements can be restored and funded for hiring replacement employees.
Second, the bill would add a 16th step to the state pay matrix.
Third, a new provision would be added to state law requiring the Secretary of Administration to provide each permanent, full-time state employee an annual one-page summary of the individual's compensation package, including such items as salary and benefits provided to the employee in the form of health, retirement, leave, the cafeteria plan, and any other benefits.
Fourth, a new provision would be added to state law authorizing the shared leave program to include the donation of vacation time, in addition to sick leave time authorized by current law.
Fifth, the bill would add the Rainbow Mental Health Facility to current law that provides for closure or relocation of programs and benefits for staff laid off or transferred. The statutory provisions currently pertain to Topeka State Hospital and Winfield State Hospital.
Background
House Sub for SB 40 as Recommended by the
Kansas 2000 Select Committee
The House Committee amendments to the bill were among a series of changes submitted by Representative Tom Sloan. Two proposals were not adopted by the House Committee: one eliminating the first three steps of the state pay matrix and a second one mandating state agencies to pay tuition expenses of state employees who take courses or training.
No new fiscal note for House Sub. for SB 40 is available that reviews the amendments added by the House Committee. However, one of the new provisions previously was included in another bill for which a fiscal note was prepared. SB 327 concerns the reduction in positions based on retirements. The Budget Director's fiscal note states that from FY 1994 through FY 1998 the average annual retirement reductions were $1.3 million from the State General Fund and $3.5 million from all funding sources, including 160.8 FTE positions. From the beginning of the program in FY 1994 through December of FY 1999, the program has reduced a total of 851.7 FTE positions. Passage of the bill would discontinue the program and retain approximately 160.0 FTE positions and associated funding annually.
SB 617 concerns adding a 16th step to the pay matrix for classified state employees. Adding a step to the current state pay matrix will increase the base salary of eligible classified state employees on range 15 by approximately 2.5 percent. An estimated 2,522 classified state employees were assigned to range 15 on February 18, 2000, according to the Division of Personnel Services. A total of 3,164 employees are anticipated to be on step 15 at the start of FY 2001 and eligible to receive the step increase during the next fiscal year. A cost estimate of $3,043,098 is indicated by the Budget Director in the fiscal note for SB 617, including $1,562,344 from the State General Fund. If limited only to the executive branch agencies, the fiscal note is $2,926,392, with $1,445,638 from the State General Fund. In addition, preparing and distributing an annual employee summary of pay and benefit data also will have an administrative cost. No estimate has been prepared for this potential expense.
A House floor amendment added the provisions for Rainbow Mental Health Facility to be included.
SB 40 as Passed by the Senate
The amended bill would have provided that any Senator or Representative who is a member of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) and retires from the Kansas Legislature after the start of the 2001 Session, and who, after retirement from the Legislature, becomes a state legislator again, would have all KPERS retirement benefits suspended while the retirant serves as a member of the Legislature.
The amended bill as passed by the Senate would have prevented a state legislator from resigning from a current term of office in order to retire, to be off the state payroll for 30 days in order to qualify for retirement benefits, and later to return to the Legislature and receive concurrently both retirement benefits and legislative per diem compensation. Likewise, it also would have prevented other legislators who retire as KPERS members, and later are either elected or appointed to serve again in either the House or Senate, from receiving both KPERS retirement benefits and legislative per diem compensation.
The bill as introduced would have had a retroactive effective date of July 1, 1998, and would have commenced with the session that began January 11, 1999. The Senate Ways and Means Committee amendment made the bill prospective after House and Senate general elections in November of 2000 in order to coincide with new terms of office for all legislators who begin new terms of office in January of 2001.
KPERS staff indicated that there would be no actuarial or administrative cost impact for the bill as passed by the Senate.
1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/bill_search.html