GOP looks at plan to cut legislative retirement

A bill that would eliminate health-care benefits for future retired legislators was discussed this past week in the House Republican caucus.

It's unclear if HB216 will pass either the House or the Senate, although Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has said he has no problems with eliminating retirement health care benefits for future governors.

"This is the counterpart to HB213," Rep. Dave Clark, R-Santa Clara, told his GOP colleagues.

Clark sponsored the now-infamous HB213 in the 2005 Legislature — the bill reducing health care benefits for future state-employed retirees. Retirements among long-serving state employees doubled last year as they got out of state government before HB213 would have taken effect Jan. 1.

However, the Utah Supreme Court enjoined the new law while justices deliberate on whether or not it is lawful.

Clark said it is only fair that since the Legislature felt it had to reduce future health care benefits (or the state would face up to $1 billion in new liabilities) for state employees, that future senior legislators also not get the benefit.

"We ask state employees to tighten their belt, we should also," said Clark.

But one representative joked: "We asked them to tighten their belt, but we wouldn't have a belt."

That's because while future retired state employees could lose up to eight or 10 years of state-paid-for health care in retirement, they would still have some benefits. Future retired legislators and governors would have no state-paid health care at all under HB216.