Bill would force local government employees to fund pensions

RICHMOND — All public school teachers and local government employees would have to contribute 5 percent of their pay toward their retirement plan under legislation introduced in the Virginia Senate.

Sen. John C. Watkins, R-Powhatan, also wants to prohibit school boards and local governing bodies from paying the employee share of their pensions as almost all school divisions and many local governments have for decades.

The idea is to help school divisions, in particular, pay for big increases in pension contributions for teachers required under the two-year state budget proposed by Gov. Bob McDonnell.

The legislation, Senate Bill 497, would allow school boards, but not local governing bodies, the option of imposing the requirement on teachers by 1 percent a year over five years instead of all at once.

“I don’t want to cripple them in their take-home pay,” said Watkins, who also represents parts of Richmond and Chesterfield County. “This provides school boards the chance to adjust their salaries.”

The General Assembly took a similar step last year with state employees, by requiring them to pay 5 percent of their salaries toward retirement, while offsetting most of the increase with a 5 percent wage increase.

McDonnell has proposed that state employees, but not teachers, pay an additional 1 percent of pay toward retirement.

Teachers, like state employees, gave up raises in the early 1980s in exchange for a promise by school divisions to cover their share of pension contributions.

But the state isn’t providing additional money to help school divisions raise salaries to offset the cut in teacher pay, say school board and teacher advocates.

The legislation would make the contribution mandatory for all public school and local government employees, regardless of whether they were hired before sweeping state pension reforms took effect on July 1, 2010.

Drug testing for aid recipients

RICHMOND — A House committee on Tuesday approved a measure to require drug screening for people who receive certain public assistance.

After a heated debate, the Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee referred the drug screening measure to the House Appropriations Committee to consider its fiscal impact — pegged at $1.3 million in general fund dollars in the first year.

The legislation would require local social services departments to screen people receiving Virginia Initiative for Employment not Welfare benefits to determine if there’s reason to believe they are using illegal substances.

If so, a formal test would be done, which could include a drug test. The type of screening is not specified.

Anyone who tests positive or refuses to participate “without good cause” would not be able to receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families payments unless the person enters into a drug treatment program. The person would have an opportunity to reapply.

Del. Lionell Spruill Sr., D-Chesapeake, raised questions about testing people who have already been on the program without any indication of drug use and noted other groups receive taxpayer dollars — state lawmakers and corporations, for example.

“Now we’re picking on people who are poor,” he said. “Why are we singling out this one group?”

“If you’ve got a heart at all, do the right thing.”

Several similar measures were rolled into House Bill 73, sponsored by Del. Richard P. “Dickie” Bell, R-Staunton.

Del. Christopher T. Head, R-Roanoke, who sponsored a similar bill, disputed the estimated fiscal impact based on the cost of drug tests administered to his employees.

He said after the meeting that he’s not singling out any group of people.

“As stewards of public money, we have the responsibility to make sure that that money is being spent wisely and this is a particular program where cash is being given to people, and a lot of people have brought to me concerns that there is a high incidence of drug use among this population.”

Asked if they have any evidence of that, he said: “The evidence would be borne out by the testing.”