I sat in the galleries of the House and Senate at 9:45 pm Wednesday, May 25, 2011 when the legislative session came to a close. I was relieved and thankful that HB2097 was not passed by the legislature. I was proud of our organization and of all of you who did so much to stop a bill that could do so much but said so little. I want to thank all of you who wrote letters, made phone calls and sent e-mails to your legislators as you are responsible for defeating this bill. Your voice was heard loud and clear in educating the legislators that this was not a slam dunk and that there are 8,000 plus LEOFF 1 members, families and friends who are opposed to this bill.

I especially want to thank Jerry Taylor, President of the Retired Seattle Police Officers Association (RSPOA), Ken Crowder, retired Snohomish County Deputy Sheriff and member of the Snohomish County Disability Board, and Don Hirschman, a retired Aberdeen firefighter and a member of the Aberdeen Firefighters Pension Board for their tireless efforts on our behalf. A special thanks to our RFFOW Directors, Vice President Jim Fossos, Jeff Caldwell (RSPOA), John Sullivan (RSPOA) and Mark Curtis, LEOFF 1 Coalition.

Many organizations assisted in our effort including COMPAS, The Association of Washington Cities (AWC) and the Washington Fire Chiefs Association (WFC). I want to thank Kathy Turner, the Mayor of Puyallup and the President of the Association of Washington Cities for the opportunity to talk with her and for their expressed concerns regarding this bill.

Our opposition was not because of what the bill said, it was because of what the bill failed to say. The language of the bill quite bluntly addressed what the bill would do: merge the LEOFF 1 and LEOFF 2 Pension Systems, co-mingle the funds and authorize the LEOFF 2 Board to administer the new combined pension system. There was no stipulation to what the board could do or reference to what the board was not empowered to do. There was no description of what rights or benefits would be retained by the members of the LEOFF 1 Pension system. It was like having a collective bargaining agreement that only listed the jurisdiction and the two parties without reference to the responsibilities, rights or benefits of either party; only a verbal promise that the current employer would treat you right.

We have to give a lot of credit to the bill analysis that we requested and drafted by Phil Talmadge, a former State Senator and former Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court and the comments from Attorney Joe Fischnaller who has tried and prevailed in several LEOFF1 lawsuits.

I was instructed many years ago that when lobbying in Olympia your word is your bond. You must always maintain your respect for the legislators, the system and your integrity. You never tell a legislator that something is true or factual unless you know that it is. You never state that you will do something and then fail to do it. I believe those who told the legislators and inferred or suggested that we were all in agreement with this bill have violated this code. Many legislators have stated that this was the way the bill was presented to them by the proponents. It was not mentioned that the LEOFF 1 groups had not been contacted and that LEOFF 1 members would have no guaranteed representation on the board or that there would be no guarantee of any retention of LEOFF 1 benefits. To state that the bill is constitutional when it's only a personal opinion and in opposition to what an attorney who has tried many LEOFF 1 lawsuits and a former Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court has suggested is unconscionable. WACOPS and the State Council of Firefighters along with the legislators who have endorsed the bill continue to recite the same talking points as if they are factual and nothing is in question. Legal, contractual and moral issues be damned, we are going to move on, as we have already determined without regress what is in the best interest of everyone. It makes one feel that leadership, responsibility, dedication, integrity and fair representation are a thing of the past.

I can't believe that President Kelly Fox who has been elected as a union council representative has taken an oath to represent all members and the two hired representatives of the council, would violate the meet and confer principle in unionism. How could they and their legislative committee be so naive as to think that we would accept a blank contract?

They expect us to give the board sole governance of the LEOFF 1 system based on their word that "No benefits will be reduced." Even if they are sincere and can be taken for their word, they can't speak for a future board when all the current board members may be gone. I would think they would agree that a retention of benefits clause would be very necessary in the bill. One must remember that WACOPS and the State Council of Firefighters can be a little short-sighted at times.

As I remember they were both somewhat sympathetic when the legislature wanted to transfer some of the LEOFF 1 funds to the General Fund. Where would be we today if they had succeeded? Both organizations supported the legislation that created the Contribution Holiday and look where the fund is today, in danger of an unfunded liability in the very near future. If they planned to inherit the fund, they should have kept the contributions coming in. We could write volumes on this issue, however I think my letter to Senator Mark Schoesler says it all.

The legislature did pass HB 1087 that authorizes in Sec 105, the Actuary to conduct a study to determine the fiscal impact of a merger of LEOFF 1 and LEOFF2:

The appropriations in this section are subject to the following conditions and limitations: $75,000 of the department of retirement services account-state appropriation is for the state actuary to study the issue of merging the law enforcement officers' and firefighters' retirement system plans 1 and
2 into a single retirement plan. The department of retirement systems shall assist the state actuary by providing such information and advice as the state actuary requests, and the state actuary may contract for services as needed to conduct a study. The results of the study shall be reported to the Ways ads Means Committee of the House of Representatives and the Senate by December 12,
2011.

(1) Among the issues related to the merger of the of the law enforcement officers' and firefighters' retirement system plans 1 and 2 into a single retirement plan that shall be examined:

• Changes to the assets available to pay for the benefits of each plan before and after a merger based on a range of possible economic and demographic experience.
• Changes to the projected contributions that might be required of members, employers and the state, based on a range of possible economic and demographic experience and a variety of funding policies, including both continued application of current funding policy to the benefit obligations of each plan, and application of the law enforcement officers' and firefighters' retirement system plan 2 funding policies to the combined benefits of both plans;

(2) The state actuary shall solicit the input of the law enforcement officers' and firefighters' retirement system plan 2 retirement board and organizations representing members and retirees of the law enforcement officers' and firefighters' retirement system plan
1 on the issue of the merger of the two state plans, and include representative submissions of the input of the organizations along with the report.

I will meet with Jerry Taylor and Ken Crowder on Tuesday, May 31st, to make a recommendation as to our next course of action regarding the study and any future legislation.

• We must prepare for the study.
• We have to be prepared to stop a bad bill if introduced in the next session.
• We have to be certain that a new bill, if introduced has the proper safeguards for the LEOFF system.
• We must examine all contractual rights and constitutional issues.