colorado public employees’ retirement association
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‘Let’s provide meaningful reforms to PERA — but not on the backs of retirees’
Many in Colorado, including firefighters, police officers, other public servants – and especially the more than 35,000 members of the Colorado Education Association – want to see the Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association fixed and poised for a solid future. We all depend upon a strong PERA for retirement. However, the current bill (SB-200) moving…
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Bill to fix PERA amended to exclude taxpayers from ‘shared responsibility’
A bill to fill a $32 billion to $50 billion hole in the Public Employees’ Retirement Association won’t have the public employers’ help, if it keeps an amendment passed in Senate Bill 200‘s first committee vote Thursday. In a five-member committee with three Republicans, Sen. Jack Tate. R-Centennial, needed to make the change to secure…
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FEEDBACK: Civil rights, PERA’s woes — and an aquanaut for CU regent
Civil Rights Division, Commission ensure a valued, respected work force As a citizen and small-business owner, I testified in favor of reauthorizing the Colorado Civil Rights Division and Commission in front of the House Judiciary Committee. I was relieved when it passed reauthorization on a decisive 10-1 vote. The growth of Colorado’s strong economy depends…
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Updated: As PERA bill drops Wednesday, Common Sense Policy Roundtable offers advice
The legislation to backfill a projected $32 billion shortfall in the state employees’ pension plan is expected to be introduced Wednesday. One of the biggest priorities of the session lands near its midpoint, the same day a significant white paper on the subject is released. The bill is expected to offer a bipartisan plan for…
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How to reform PERA? Start with its board
As a candidate for state treasurer I often get asked how I would fix the Public Employees Retirement system, known as PERA, that currently has an unfunded liability of $32 billion. The state treasurer sits on the 16-member PERA board, so it is a relevant question. I have three close family members who are PERA members,…
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Republican Tom Tancredo at Capitol to talk PERA, prepare for Hickenlooper-Tancredo transition
Republican Tom Tancredo, the former congressman running for governor of Colorado, spent Thursday morning at the state Capitol to hear Gov. John Hickenlooper’s final State of the State address and offer his thoughts on where the state is headed. “Let’s be realistic about this,” Tancredo told Colorado Politics before Hickenlooper, who is term-limited, delivered the…
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Charles Scheibe, Colorado’s chief financial officer, enters Democratic primary for state treasurer
Saying his 11 years as Colorado’s chief financial officer have prepared him better than the politicians who are running, Democrat Charles Scheibe on Tuesday entered a crowded field for state treasurer that includes five state lawmakers, a county treasurer, an elected prosecutor and a former legislative candidate. “As a taxpayer, who would you rather have…
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Union fires back at Treasurer Walker Stapleton’s public pension plan
Secure PERA, a lobbying group for public employees and retirees, calls state Treasurer Walker Stapleton’s plan to reform the public pension system a disaster. In a conference call with reporters Wednesday, Stapleton appraised the state of the retirement plan, the handling of which he has long criticized. The two-term Republican treasurer is running for governor.…
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Walker Stapleton calls out fellow Colorado Republicans ‘on the take’ with PERA for blocking pension reform
Colorado Treasurer Walker Stapleton, a GOP candidate for governor, is criticizing fellow Republicans who participate in the state’s public employee pension plan, saying some are blocking reform because they’re “on the take” and unwilling to vote against their own financial interest. A consistent critic of Colorado’s Public Employee Retirement Association policies, Stapleton is working on…
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Colorado governor’s budget relies on legislature to find more transportation money
On paper, Gov. John Hickenlooper touts an 11 percent increase in transportation funding from legislation that passed last session, but the draft of his next budget request released to reporters Wednesday doesn’t go further than money lawmakers already have approved. Republicans want to see more “skin in the game” from the state budget before asking…