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Lawyers Seek to Make Court Clerk a Millionaire |
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| Bob Ingram's Editorial [Home] [Search] [Email] [Next] [Support CRCR] |
Please use this information to call the Governor, the Lt. Governor, and your Senator and Representative in the Legislature
SB249/HB312 This letter was written to members of the Senate from Lindy J. Leadingham, Legislative Counsel: Hopefully, this letter will clearly explain our opposition to SB249/HB312 and highlight one of the worst pieces of special interest legislation that we have ever seen. SB249/HB312 would allow the Clerk of the Supreme Court to retire under the Judicial Retirement System (JRS) instead of the Employees' Retirement System (ERS). This legislation would for the first time add a non-judge to the Judicial Retirement System. Not only would it add a non-judge, it would do so without actuarially required funding. Based on the difference the Clerk would receive under ERS and JRS over the life expectancy of the husband and wife, the additional cost to the JRS and the taxpayer would be $989,475. Needless to say, this will set a precedent that will not be limited to one person. The reason for the large difference in retirement benefits is that the Clerk under the ERS contributes on the same basis as all other state employees (except judges) including other employees of the appellate courts, the trial courts and all other state agencies. They contribute five percent of their salary while the state has made employer contributions ranging from four percent to seven percent to the ERS during the Clerk's term of employment. The Clerk is eligible to retire now with approximately 18 years of service, which would entitle him to an annual benefit equal to 34 percent of his salary or $40,568. Judges, on the other hand, contribute six percent of their salary to the JRS while the court system has made employer contributions ranging from twenty percent to forty percent of salary. Under this bill, the Clerk would receive an annual benefit equal to 75 percent of his salary or $86,592. Because of the unfunded liability, we request your assistance in keeping SB249/HB312 off the Special Order Calendar. Should it be placed on the calendar, please vote against it when it comes up on the floor. Even after a public hearing outlining the extreme costs of this bill, not to mention the windfall to the Clerk, the favorable committee report was four nays and six yeas with Senators Bedford, Mitchell, Figures, Langford, Lindsey and McClain voting in favor of killing this bill. We would be very happy to meet with any of you to discuss any concerns you may have with this bill. Please be assured that we will alert our membership and the press about the status of this bill. Wednesday March 14, 2001 - ABC 32 WNCF I told you before about this snake crawling around in the State Senate. Dumb me...I thought simply exposing it to sunlight would send it crawling back under a rock. It didn't. The snake is still alive and well. A Senate committee today approved a bill which would allow Bob Esdale, the long-time clerk of the State Supreme Court, to join the Judicial Retirement System. If this measure becomes law, it will come close to making Esdale a millionaire. Esdale has been a state employee for almost 18 years and as such has been a member of the Employees Retirement System. Esdale plans to retire soon and based on his current salary of $112,500 a year, he will be entitled to benefits of $40,500 a year. But he has decided he wants more, and to get it he wants to belatedly join the Judicial Retirement System. And the benefits under that retirement system are much more generous than those for state employees. How much more? If the bill is approved, Esdale would retire at $86,500 a year...more than twice what he would get as a retired state employee...and in addition, in the event of his death his wife would be paid $34,600 a year. Based on the life expectancy of he and his wife, the additional cost to the Judicial Retirement System would be a fraction under $1 million. Esdale ought to be ashamed of himself...so should the senators who voted for this bill. It is a slap in the face of every state employee who doesn't have friends in high places who can help them double their retirement benefits. That's the way I see it. (Printed by permission of Bob Ingram, ABC 32 - WNCF)
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