BILL REQ. #: S-3624.2

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SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 8223
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State of Washington

61st Legislature

2010 Regular Session

By Senators Schoesler, Hobbs, Hewitt, Murray, Honeyford, Parlette, Shin, Berkey, Sheldon, Becker, King, Holmquist, Stevens, Pflug, McDermott, Swecker, McCaslin, Delvin, and Kilmer

Read first time 01/19/10. Referred to Committee on Ways & Means.

BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON, IN LEGISLATIVE SESSION ASSEMBLED:
THAT, At the next general election to be held in this state the secretary of state shall submit to the qualified voters of the state for their approval and ratification, or rejection, an amendment to the Constitution of the state of Washington by adding a new section to read as follows:

     Article . . ., section 1. (1) Prior to the beginning of each biennium, the state actuary, appointed and authorized as provided by statute, or successor entity, shall conduct an actuarial valuation of all state-administered public employee retirement plans. The state actuary's valuation shall be subject to an independent actuarial audit.
     (2) The pension funding council, appointed and authorized as provided by statute, or successor entity, shall utilize the actuarial valuation and audit to determine employer retirement contribution rates in all state-administered public employee retirement plans for the upcoming biennium.
     (3) Each biennium the legislature shall appropriate moneys to fund the state employer retirement contribution rates identified in subsection (2) of this section. Legislative action that would result in employer retirement contribution rates in any state-administered public employee retirement plan being less than the amount determined in subsection (2) of this section shall require a vote of three-fifths of the members elected to each house of the legislature, unless the reduction is the result of statutory modifications to retirement benefits not guaranteed by this Constitution.
     (4) This section does not create or alter any contractual, statutory, or constitutional rights to receive public employee retirement benefits.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the secretary of state shall cause notice of this constitutional amendment to be published at least four times during the four weeks next preceding the election in every legal newspaper in the state.

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