April 20, 2015 12:27 PM

House committee tees up bill that could turn municipal funds on their head

Time has come to shift from defined benefit to defined contribution plan, says Bettencourt

A proposal from Rep. Jim Murphy, R-Houston, to shift control of municipal pension plans from the state to local boards that can end the traditional public pension is headed to a House committee for a hearing Monday afternoon after a show of support from both the Tea Party and business interests.

This is Murphy’s third swing at pension reform, a key initiative of Houston Mayor Annise Parker, who considered the city hamstrung by pension terms that would have forced her to lay off city employees to cover liability costs. The Texas Municipal League is silent on the bill, saying it is up to the individual city, even though this bill will apply to 13 municipal and almost 100 fire pension funds, according to the bill analysis.

Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, pointed out the liability of the Bayou City’s plans, both pension and benefits, is now in the range of $5 billion.

By Kimberly Reeves