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Minutes for SB421 - Committee on Ways and Means
Short Title
Transferring $253,866,022 from the state general fund to the Kansas public employees retirement fund during fiscal year 2022 and eliminating certain level-dollar KPERS employer contribution payments.
Minutes Content for Wed, Feb 9, 2022
Chairperson Billinger opened the hearing on SB 421. David Wiese, Office of the Revisor of Statutes, provided an overview of the bill. (Attachment 4)
Alan Conroy, Executive Director of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS), testified in support of the bill on behalf of the KPERS Board of Trustees. In 2016 there was a decision to delay the employer contributions from the KPERS-School group but to still honor the commitment by paying on a twenty year payment plan. They payment is $25 million per year SGF and this bill would eliminate that payment so this would be a positive thing. The Actuary has accounted for those payments as receivables so that won't change but it gets the money in the Trust Fund and would save about $172 million from the SGF in interest costs over the seventeen years left of payments. Mr. Conroy responded to questions from Committee members. (Attachment 5)
Written only testimony in support of the bill was submitted by:
Attorney General Derek Schmidt (Attachment 6)
Timothy Graham, Kansas National Education Association (Attachment 7)
Adam Proffitt, Director of the Budget, provided neutral testimony. The administration is in full support of using surplus funds to pay off debt, which will provide for short-term and long-term benefits. He is neutral on this bill because it is a direct transfer from the SGF to KPERS. The Governor recommended making this payment from the Department of Education, which would properly account for the expenditures that were not made in FY 2017 and FY 2019. Mr. Proffitt responded to questions from Committee members. (Attachment 8)
There being no further conferees, Chairperson Billinger closed the hearing on SB 421.
Chairperson Billinger adjourned the meeting at 11:37 am. The next meeting will be February 11, 2022.
