Republican idea for fixing PERS? Let's put our money in mortgage-backed securities!!!

Republicans spent the last election cycle saying that Democrats were engaging in scare tactics regarding PERS and taking pledges not to mess with the 13th check.

Well, guess what?  The Republican assault on PERS has begun. Sen. Joey Fillingane (R-Sumrall) has fired the first shot in the form of SB 2218 filed earlier this week. Here's the "short" title of the bill (full text of the bill is available by clicking the title):

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 25-11-103, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE CERTAIN DEFINITIONS RELATING TO THE LAWS GOVERNING THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM; TO REVISE THE DEFINITION OF THE TERM "BENEFICIARY" TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT, IN THE EVENT THAT A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM DIES BEFORE RETIREMENT AND THE SPOUSE AND/OR CHILDREN ARE NOT ENTITLED TO A RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE ON THE BASIS THAT THE DECEASED MEMBER DID NOT HAVE THE REQUISITE NUMBER OF YEARS OF SERVICE, THE TYPE OF SERVICE TO WHICH IS REFERRED IS MEMBERSHIP SERVICE; TO REVISE THE DEFINITION OF THE TERM "CHILD" TO CLARIFY THAT A NATURAL CHILD OF A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM IS ONE THAT IS CONCEIVED BEFORE THE DEATH OF THE MEMBER; TO REVISE THE DEFINITION OF THE TERM "EARNED COMPENSATION" TO EXCLUDE FROM EARNED COMPENSATION THE VALUE OF MAINTENANCE FURNISHED AND TO EXCLUDE THE VALUE OF ANY IN-KIND BENEFITS FROM THE COMPUTATION OF EARNED COMPENSATION; TO AMEND SECTION 25-11-109, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT CREDITABLE SERVICE FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM FOR PERIODS OF TIME AFTER JULY 1, 2013, SHALL BE AWARDED IN MONTHLY INCREMENTS; TO PROVIDE THAT THE COMPUTATION OF UNUSED LEAVE FOR CREDITABLE SERVICE FOR MEMBERS WHO RETIRE ON OR AFTER JULY 1, 2013, SHALL BE CALCULATED IN MONTHLY INCREMENTS; TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT LEAVE CREDIT FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM IS IN LIEU OF, AND NOT IN ADDITION TO, LEAVE EARNED WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY EMPLOYED IN A NONELECTED POSITION IN THE SYSTEM; TO AMEND SECTION 25-11-113, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM WHO APPLIES FOR A DISABILITY RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE MUST PROVIDE SUFFICIENT OBJECTIVE MEDICAL EVIDENCE IN SUPPORT OF THE CLAIM AND TO DEFINE "OBJECTIVE MEDICAL EVIDENCE"; TO AMEND SECTION 25-11-114, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT IF A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM DIES BEFORE BEING QUALIFIED FOR A FULL, UNREDUCED RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE, THE REDUCTION FACTOR FOR THE ANNUITY OF THE SURVIVING SPOUSE SHALL BE BASED ON THE NUMBER OF YEARS THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN REQUIRED FOR THE DECEASED MEMBER TO QUALIFY FOR A FULL, UNREDUCED RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE; TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT IN ORDER FOR BENEFITS FOR A DEATH OR DISABILITY THAT OCCURS IN THE PERFORMANCE OF DUTY TO BE PAYABLE, THE DEATH OR
DISABILITY MUST HAVE BEEN AS A DIRECT RESULT OF A PHYSICAL INJURY SUSTAINED FROM AN ACCIDENT OR A TRAUMATIC EVENT CAUSED BY EXTERNAL VIOLENCE OR PHYSICAL FORCE OCCURRING IN THE PERFORMANCE OF DUTY; TO AMEND SECTION 25-11-119, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN CONFIDENTIAL MEMBER INFORMATION TO THE MEMBER'S CURRENT OR FORMER EMPLOYER; TO AMEND SECTION 25-11-121, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE INVESTMENT OPTIONS FOR EXCESS FUNDS OF THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM TO REFLECT THE CURRENT INVESTMENT ENVIRONMENT; TO AMEND SECTION 25-13-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE EARLY RETIREMENT FORMULA FOR THE MISSISSIPPI HIGHWAY SAFETY PATROL RETIREMENT SYSTEM TO PROVIDE THAT THE RETIREMENT ANNUITY SHALL BE REDUCED BY AN ACTUARIALLY DETERMINED PERCENTAGE OR FACTOR, RATHER THAN 3% AS IN CURRENT LAW, FOR EACH YEAR OF AGE BELOW 55 OR FOR EACH YEAR OF SERVICE BELOW 25, WHICHEVER IS THE LESSER; TO AMEND SECTIONS 25-11-111.1, 25-13-11.1 AND 21-29-325, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM TO MAKE PAYMENTS OF RETIREMENT BENEFITS TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM, THE MISSISSIPPI HIGHWAY SAFETY PATROL RETIREMENT SYSTEM AND THE MUNICIPAL RETIREMENT SYSTEMS IT ADMINISTERS, BY WHATEVER MEANS IT DEEMS MOST APPROPRIATE AND TO AUTHORIZE ALTERNATE MEANS OF PAYMENT IF THE MEMBER OR BENEFICIARY CAN DEMONSTRATE THAT PAYMENT BY THE PRESCRIBED MEANS WILL CAUSE UNDUE HARDSHIP; TO AMEND SECTION 25-9-120, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO EXEMPT ACTUARIAL OR INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SERVICES CONTRACTS ENTERED INTO BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM FROM THE RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE PERSONAL SERVICE CONTRACT REVIEW BOARD THAT GOVERN SOLICITATION AND SELECTION OF CONTRACTUAL SERVICES PERSONNEL; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

There are provisions in the bill that would change the way leave time is calculated at retirement, make it more difficult to get a disability retirement allowance, and allow the PERS Board to determine how to credit someone's service.  There's other stuff in there as well, and folks will be pouring over this for the next few days to figure out all of the implications of the bill.

My favorite part, though, is the language that would let PERS retirement funds be invested in mortgage-backed securities (see lines 1241-1243).  You may recall mortgage-backed securities as the investment vehicle that nearly ended America in 2008.

Sen. Fillingane's bill was assigned to the Senate Finance Committee, of which he is the chairman.

***BREAKING*** House: Courts to handle redistricting if Senate does not concur

Word from the House is that if the Senate does not concur on JR 201, then the House will not appoint conferees. As obstructionist as Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant has become in this process, the conferees would no doubt be his foot soldiers Fillingane, McDaniel, and Hewes, who didn't even favor the plan the full Senate passed overwhelmingly. Going to conference with three individuals dead set against any reasonable House plan would be a fool's errand. Instead, a lawsuit will be filed next week in order to give the federal courts ample time to draw new districts before the June 1 deadline.

The reasoning behind this is that if the courts are going to draw the lines anyway, they might as well get started so that the lines will be complete by June 1. And why would the courts refuse to allow legislators to run in their current districts? The current districts are so malapportioned as to devastate the "one person one vote" principle. The smallest district, population-wise, is 13,000, while the largest is 55,000. There's no way the courts let an election under those circumstances go forward.

The net effect of going to court next week? The Legislature loses all control over redistricting, and new lines will be in place before June 1. That means that those legislators who think they are going to run this year in their current districts if conference is invited are mistaken. That would mean a certain end to the senatorial careers of Sen. Buck Clarke (R-Hollandale), Sen. Nolan Mettetal (R-Sardis), Sen. Briggs Hopson (R-Vicksburg), Sen. Ezell Lee (R-Picayune), and Sen. Lydia Chassaniol (R-Winona). There will certainly be other casualties as well.

Redistricting winners and losers thus far (***Updated to include more potential losers***)

Here's a breakdown of the redistricting winners and losers thus far:

Winners


House Democrats - They've succeeded in creating a plan that does not gift wrap the Speaker's race for Republicans, and that's a big win.

Sen. Terry Burton - He's shown enormous backbone in resisting efforts by Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant to take over the redistricting process.  People love a winner, and that's what Burton is.  By rebuffing the Lt. Gov., Burton has grown in stature in a Mississippi Republican Party that is quickly entering its "Post-Haley" era.

GOP gubernatorial candidate Dave Dennis - Watching Phil Bryant stumble through this process has to be similar to what Kirk Fordice felt when Pete Johnson fumbled away the Republican nomination in 1991.  I have a feeling Dennis is waiting in the wings as this play reaches its finale.  He wins no matter how this turns out.

GOP lieutenant governor candidate Tate Reeves - See Dave Dennis above, as Reeves' primary opponent, Sen. Billy Hewes, has been caught up in the mess as a Bryant lieutenant in the redistricting process.

Losers

House Republicans - They were on the record as having helped draw districts that they favored, and the majority of them stood ready to vote for the House consensus plan.  Last-minute arm twisting from the MSGOP (on behalf of Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant) put them in the uncomfortable position of voting against a plan they created and really liked.  Because most of them had planned to vote for the House consensus plan until the last minute, they had no alternative plan ready.  That led to the late entry of the Republican alternative that seemed to garner only halfhearted support.

Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant - Being on the losing side of a battle this highly publicized is embarrassing enough.  But losing it while you are the leader of the Republican Senate and engaged in a race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination is a few very large degrees different.  It was an utter failure of leadership, and not very Barbour-like in a party desperately searching for its next Barbour.  Bryant created a huge opening for Dave Dennis to exploit.  And make no mistake about it, there is no "win" left for Bryant at this point in the game.  Bryant either loses the vote in the Senate and the plans go into effect, or he forces the state to spend millions on new elections and court battles.  Not a great position for a fiscal conservative to put himself in. Especially in a battle he chose to fight.

Sen. Billy Hewes - See above, except Hewes loses a bit less, as Bryant is getting most of the airtime while this mess is going down.  He's therefore less likely to catch as much flak from GOP primary voters, but he'll still catch a good bit if he's part of the reason the state has to spend millions of extra dollars.  If Tate Reeves is on his game, Hewes could pay dearly for voting to invite conference.

Sen. Joey Fillingane - Fillingane led the charge for Bryant on this, and burned a few bridges along the way with senators who now hold more sway than he does.

Potential losers (Updated at 5:24 p.m.)


Sen. Buck Clarke (R-Hollandale), Sen. Nolan Mettetal (R-Sardis), Sen. Briggs Hopson (R-Vicksburg), Sen. Ezell Lee (R-Picayune), and Sen. Lydia Chassaniol (R-Winona) - If the Senate does not concur and courts wind up drawing the lines, it's very tough to imagine a situation in which these senators manage to make it back, either because they will wind up in majority minority districts or because their districts will move to another part of the state altogether. If the Senate does not concur, these folks will be heading home.

Senate convenes at 3 p.m., motion to reconsider the Senate plan is 4th on calendar

When the Mississippi Senate gavels in this afternoon, the fourth item on its calendar (agenda) will be the motion to reconsider the redistricting plan that passed last week.  In a procedural maneuver to gain more time to twist arms, Sen. Joey Fillingane (R-Sumrall) entered the motion immediately after passage of the plan last week.

In order to release the plan from the Senate, there must be a majority vote on a motion to table the motion to reconsider.  That should happen, and then the action will move back to the House.

Parliamentary stalling in the MS Senate

No one was recognized by Lt. Gov. Bryant today for a motion to table the motion to reconsider the Burton plan passed out of the Senate yesterday. That means Sen. Joey Fillingane (R-Sumrall) and Lt. Gov. Bryant (R) have teamed up to push the state one day closer to a second legislative election next year.

Speculation is that the delay is to give the MSGOP another day to draft a House map. One has to wonder what's taking them so long....

Profile in Redistricting "Courage" #3

This afternoon's Profile in Redistricting "Courage" is a twofer from Sumrall. Rep. Harvey Fillingane and his son, Sen. Joey Fillingane, have already had an active year in redistricting.

Rep. Harvey Fillingane (R-Sumrall)

Sen. Joey Fillingane (R-Sumrall)

During the redistriting process, Senator Fillingane delivered a note to the House Reappropriation Committee requesting that the committee split the town of Sumrall.  The proposal didn't sit too well with the citizens of Sumrall, and WDAM took note.

Sumrall Mayor Gerolene Rayborn suspected that this split was made for political reasons and in fact, Rep. Filingane does have an opponent from Sumrall who has qualified, Republican Hank Lott.

Hoping to gain support for this strategy, Rep. Fillingane distributed a map of the proposed plan showing Sumrall split in half to some citizens of the town. This drew the ire of Mayor Rayborn and several other Sumrall residents. When the heat was turned up, Rep. Fillingane withdrew the request made by his son to the House Committee. File under "gerrymandering misfire".

The war over a majority-minority Hattiesburg district

It is becoming increasingly clear that the war over Senate redistricting is one about race. Namely, Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant wishes to prevent the creation of a majority-minority Senate district in Hattiesburg. This is despite the fact that Sen. Terry Burton (R-Newton) said creation of such a district was a "general theme" of the many redistricting town halls held around the state.

So, Phil Bryant's having some trouble in the Hattiesburg area, huh?

Hattiesburg Senate Districts

According to the Clarion-Ledger, Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant has prepared a Senate redistricting plan of his own.  He no doubt wants to use it instead of the one Sen. Terry Burton's (R-Newton) committee has worked all year to prepare.  Barring that, Bryant is "hoping for a resolution of the two plans (but) there is a district in the Pine Belt that (he) disagree(s) with."

That's interesting, because it was the Pine Belt that caused Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck (R) trouble, too.  In an effort to protect Sen. Tom King (R-Petal) and dilute black voting strength in a majority black city, the Republican Party pushed the district you see above.  (Yes, that is a one-block wide Senate district you see snaking along W 4th and Hardy Streets and then down the railroad tracks, and another that is connected by the I-59/Hwy 49 interchange.)

So, will Phil Bryant release his plan for us to look at? And how does it treat the three white Republican senators who currently represent Hattiesburg?

*In the picture above, District 44, held by Republican Tom King, is orange.  District 41, held by Republican Joey Fillingane, is purple.  District 45, held by Republican Billy Hudson, is gray.

Clarion-Ledger story on lawsuit provision on immigration bill

Molly Parker over at the Clarion-Ledger penned a story for today's Clarion-Ledger that discusses what we've been talking about over here for the past week: the Senate Republicans' efforts to create lawsuits against local law enforcement officials. (Cottonmouth stories here, here, here and here.

In the story, she quotes Monticello Mayor David Nichols as saying:

When you're bringing that many in, one or two are going to fall through the crack and are not here legally. Knowing that, (say) there's a guy down the street that's got a bone to pick with the mayor or the Board of Aldermen ... and they sue us, personally ... There's something wrong with that.

Indeed there is, Mayor Nichols. Ms. Parker then discusses the Baria Amendment which would have removed the lawsuit provisions, but was voted down by Senate Republicans (See who voted against it here.)

Derrick Surrette, executive director of the Mississippi Association of Supervisors, and Prentiss Mayor Charlie Dumas, president of the Mississippi Municipal League, are both quoted as having concerns about the legislation. George Lewis, Executive Director of the MML, said he felt law enforcement should have been at the table when the legislation was crafted.

Can't say that we disagree, Mr. Lewis.

More on that unfunded mandate the Mississippi Senate just passed

Sid Salter's got a blog post up that contains the text of a memo from George Lewis, head of the Mississippi Municipal League, that outlines the problems with the immigration legislation the Senate passed yesterday.  Here's an excerpt from the memo:

While there are numerous good sections of the bill, funding is pushed down to the local, city and county and law enforcement entities to implement as an UNFUNDED MANDATE by the state, with the exception of $20/day for incarceration. There are also large fines for elected officials for not fully implementing the state program with a open-ended ability for local citizens to take local officials to court.

What in the world are Sen. Joey Fillingane (R-Sumrall) and Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant thinking with this language? Aren't they supposed to be against creating unfunded mandates and causes of action against local governments?