EDITORIAL: Pension reform bills

With two weeks remaining in the 2015 Legislature, pension reform ranks high among lawmakers’ most important unfinished business. The state retirement system for public employees is underfunded by billions of dollars and already is squeezing government budgets because of rising contribution rates for overly generous benefits.

But the Legislature is making progress. Senate Bill 406, which has passed the Senate and is under consideration in the Assembly, includes good policies. Among them: a provision that denies benefits to public employees who are convicted of felonies related to their jobs, an appropriate response to the fraud committed by former Family Court Judge Steven Jones. He used his office to help scam victims of millions of dollars, and he’s headed to prison, yet he’s still eligible to collect a six-figure pension for the rest of his life.

“Going forward … that will not happen,” said Senate Majority Leader Michael Roberson, R-Henderson. Good.

Lawmakers should take the best of SB406 and combine it with Assembly Bill 190, which would create a hybrid retirement system for future public employees that shifts risk from taxpayers to beneficiaries. The public needs relief from the rising cost of government, and pension reform will provide it.