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                                         SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 8214

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State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By Senators Metcalf, Amondson and Benitz

Read first time 2/1/89 and 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 there shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the state for their approval and ratification, or rejection, an amendment to Article VIII of the Constitution of the state of Washington by adding a new section to read as follows:

Article VIII, section ....        Public employee retirement systems, including any additional benefits that may be authorized under any public employee retirement system, shall be funded on an actuarially sound basis.

          An actuarial valuation shall be prepared annually for each public employee retirement system.  Each actuarial valuation shall include a description of any unfunded liability for the public employee retirement system.  Where an initial actuarial valuation required under this section indicates the existence of an unfunded liability for the public retirement system, the actuarial valuation shall include a plan for retiring the unfunded liability over an appropriate period, not to exceed thirty years, commencing on or before July 1, 1991.  Subsequent actuarial valuations shall revise the financial plan to retire the unfunded liability over this period.  The legislature or other governing body of the government that is responsible to finance the unfunded liability shall appropriate sufficient money to retire the unfunded liability pursuant to the most current plan.  An unfunded liability shall not be permitted to exist for a public employee retirement system, except for the unfunded liability of any public employee retirement system that is retired pursuant to this section.

          The provisions of sections 1 and 6 of this Article shall not apply to the obligation of the state, or a county, city, town, school district, or other municipal corporation to fund all or any portion of a public employee retirement system, including any unfunded liability that may exist for such a public employee retirement system.

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