A primer for FL pension changes

On Thursday, Gov. Rick Scott signed into law significant reforms to the Florida Retirement System, the state-run pension fund for 655,000 state and county employees. The governor said the changes were needed to bring state workers’ benefits in line with the private sector but the more immediate impact is a savings of $1.2 billion to the state budget. The changes take effect July 1. Here is a summary of the current law and what will change for current and future employees.

Contributions

Current law:

Employees pay no portion of their salaries into their retirement accounts. The retirement contribution is paid 100 percent by employers.

Changes:

Beginning July 1, 2011, all employees must contribute 3 percent of their pre-tax salaries into their retirement accounts, thereby saving the state the equivalent of that contribution. It is a net reduction in employee salaries and benefits.

The contribution will be made by all members of the FRS, with either defined benefit or defined contribution plans.

Cost-of-living adjustments

Current law:

Employees now accumulate an annual cost-of-living adjustment for their pension benefits based on their years of service, to be collected when they retire. For example, FRS members who retire before July 1, 2011, receive a 3 percent annual cost-of-living adjustment.

Changes:

Between July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2016, Florida Retirement System members will not accumulate years of service credits for their cost-of-living adjustments, thereby reducing their annual benefit.

The change will affect employees differently, based on their years of service. For example, FRS members with 20 years of service or less who retire after July 1, 2011, will receive an additional 2.4 percent in cost of living benefits upon retirement. Members with more than 20 years of service who retire after July 1, 2011, will receive less than 3 percent, depending on how many years of service they have. A member who now has 22 years of service, for example, and retires in three years (2014) would receive a 2.6 percent adjustment.

DROP (Deferred Retirement Option Program)

Current law: Members who enter DROP before July 1, 2011 will earn 6.5 percent interest on the money set aside under the retirement program.

Changes:

Members who enter DROP after July 1 will earn 1.3 percent interest on the retirement money set aside in the program.

New hires — Vesting and Retirement age

Current law:

Employees are eligible to be vested in the pension program after five years.

Regular class, senior management class and elected officials class employees can receive normal retirement benefits if they retire after 62 years of age and 30 years of service. Special-risk class can retire after 55 years of age and 25 years of service.

The average final compensation will be calculated on the best five years of salary.

Change:

Employees hired after July 1, 2011, will vest after eight years.

Employees hired after July 1 who are regular class, senior management class and elected officials class can receive normal retirement benefits if they retire after 65 years of age or 33 years of service. Special-risk class hired after July 1 can retire after 60 years of age or 30 years of service or, if they have served four years in the U.S. military, they can retire after 57 years of age and 30 years of service.

The average final compensation will be calculated on the best eight years of salary.

Obama "autopens" Patriot Act extension into law

Following the 250-153 evening vote in the House, the legislation to renew three terrorism-fighting authorities was sent to the President's office for a signature with only hours to go before the provisions were due to expire at midnight.

With Obama currently in France at a G-8 summit, the White House said the president had instructed use of the autopen machine, which holds a pen and signs his actual signature. It is only used with proper authorization of the president.

Obama said he was pleased the act had been extended.

"It's an important tool for us to continue dealing with an ongoing terrorist threat," he said after a meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The measure adds four years to the legal life of roving wiretaps — those authorized for a person rather than a communications line or device — of court-ordered searches of business records and of surveillance of non-American "lone wolf" suspects without confirmed ties to terrorist groups.

The roving wiretaps and access to business records are small parts of the USA Patriot Act enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. But unlike most of the act, which is permanent law, those provisions must be renewed periodically because of concerns that they could be used to violate privacy rights. The same applies to the "lone wolf" provision, which was part of a 2004 intelligence law.

U.S. relies less on oil imports to meet fuel demand: government

U.S. dependence on imported oil fell below 50 percent in 2010 for the first time in more than a decade, thanks in part to the weak economy and more fuel efficient vehicles, the Energy Department said on Wednesday.

Imports of crude and petroleum products accounted for 49.3 percent of U.S. oil demand last year, down from the recent high of 60.3 percent in 2005. It also marked the first time since 1997 that America's foreign oil addiction fell under the 50 percent threshold.

Crude oil production, especially in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, increased by 334,000 barrels per day (bpd) between 2005 and 2010, which also cut into foreign oil purchases.

U.S. demand for gasoline, jet fuel, heating oil and other petroleum products that were processed from crude oil dropped by 1.7 million bpd to 19.1 million bpd in 2010 from 20.8 million bpd in 2005.

At the same time, U.S. exports of petroleum products more than doubled to a record 2.3 million bpd last year from 1.1 million bpd in 2005.

Studies: Missed meds could cost more than $250B a year

Americans may waste as much as $258 billion a year by not taking prescribed medications because the missed doses lead to emergency room visits, doctors' visits and in-patient hospitalizations, according to a study by Express Scripts, an independent prescription- filling company.

Study blames 2,200 deaths on traffic emissions

Now, for the first time, researchers at Harvard University have quantified the damage: They say that congestion in the USA's 83 largest urban areas last year led to more than 2,200 premature deaths and a related public health cost of at least $18 billion.

Supreme Court OKs Arizona’s business immigration law

In a weighty case with far-reaching implications, the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld an Arizona law that requires all businesses to check to make sure new workers are in the country legally — and in the process signaled the states can have a greater say on immigration issues.

The 5-3 ruling did not directly address a second Arizona law that granted police broader powers to check immigrants’ status and set off nationwide protests by immigrant rights groups last year. But the decision does touch on many of the same issues of federal versus state authority, and seemed to show an openness by a majority of justices to action by the states.

At issue in Thursday’s ruling was whether Arizona can require businesses to use E-Verify, a voluntary program the federal government offers businesses to check whether their job applicants are work-eligible. The Obama administration and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the requirements went too far.

But Chief Justice John G. Roberts, writing the majority opinion, said that while federal law makes the checks voluntary, it does not specifically bar states from making them mandatory. Because Arizona’s law doesn’t impose criminal penalties and deals only with businesses’ licenses, it doesn’t impinge on federal authority.

Report slams heavy focus on school testing

according to a new report from the National Research Council.

“Incentive programs” in the decade-old No Child Left Behind law — with school districts being rewarded or punished based on standardized test scores — have improved student performance in key subject areas by less than 1 percentage point when using benchmarks set by the National Assessment of Education Progress, an arm of the Education Department.

Assessments designed to both measure student achievement and determine school funding levels simply don’t work, the report’s authors argued.

Florida 3rd in nation for cargo thefts

Florida was third in the nation for cargo thefts in 2010, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

California was the top state for the crime in 2010 with 247, followed by Texas, 91; and Florida, 66. The bureau identified 747 cargo thefts nationwide worth $171 million.

Report: Florida No. 31 in clean energy

Florida was No. 31 in the nation in clean-energy leadership, according to Clean Edge Inc.’s second annual Clean Energy Leadership Index, released May 23.

Florida had 2nd most government jobs in past decade Read more: Florida had 2nd most government jobs in past decade

Florida added 94,700 government jobs between April 2001 and April 2011 — second-most in the United States, according to an On Numbers study of employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state had 1,129,900 government jobs as of April 2011.

But the trend has changed over the past year. Florida lost 4,900 government jobs between April 2010 and April 2011.

Government jobs include all jobs at the federal, state and local levels.

Texas posted the largest 10-year upswing in government jobs, adding 286,800 positions in the past decade.

Michigan shed the largest number of government jobs over the past decade, reducing its total by 64,000. Next were Ohio (down 16,500) and Louisiana (down 15,100). Seven states lost government jobs over the 10-year period.

Florida ranks 39th for manufacturing jobs

Florida has lost 154,900 manufacturing jobs over 10 years, ranking 39th in the nation, according to an On Numbers analysis of new federal data.

Only Alaska gained manufacturing jobs during that period — and that was just 100, the analysis by The Business Journals showed.

Jacksonville Transportation Authority board approves agreement bringing Greyhound to Prime Osborn

An agreement to build a new Greyhound bus station next to the Prime Osborn Convention Center drew the unanimous support of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority board Thursday.

The deal commits JTA and Greyhound to working together to build a station between Houston and Adams Streets. The two entities will jointly apply for federal funding to build the station.

First Coast third-graders show slight improvement on FCAT

Baker and St. Johns counties' third-graders ranked No. 2 in the state on the reading portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, according to scores released Thursday.

Northeast Florida's third-graders collectively showed slight improvements in reading, with three of the six districts increasing the percentage of students scoring at or above grade level. The region's students did better in math, with four of the six districts showing improvement.

More than 202,000 third-graders took the exams statewide with more than 16,800 of those being First Coast students. The test was the first time students took a revised version of the FCAT, which was revamped to be more challenging.

A student must score at least a Level 2 out of 5 on the reading portion of the exam in order to be promoted to the fourth grade.

The percentage of third-graders scoring at or above grade level on reading in Baker, Nassau and St. Johns counties improved; the percentage in Duval and Clay stayed the same as last year; and Putnam saw its percentage drop.

Gov. Rick Scott cuts from St. Johns River, UNF

Gov. Rick Scott says that after wielding his budget ax, the spending plan he signed Thursday is a record $615 million lighter than the budget approved by the Legislature, and that the savings can be applied to education.

Some lawmakers in his own party don't believe that claim, but there is no gray area regarding nearly $14 million for Northeast Florida projects that did not survive Scott's veto.

The biggest item: $10 million sought by Sen. John Thrasher for St. Johns River cleanup. The St. Augustine Republican said that he was disappointed but will continue to push for funding.

"I'm not going to give up," he said. "I've had stuff vetoed before by governors. It is part of the process."

Scott also vetoed $400,000 for KIPP Jacksonville Schools — the same charter where, with much fanfare, he held a public ceremony in March to sign his first bill as governor that tied teacher pay to student performance.

Scott signs new Fla. budget but vetoes $615M first

Gov. Rick Scott signed a $69.1 billion state budget Thursday, but before doing that he vetoed a record $615 million in spending, including money for environmental land purchases, college and university buildings, homeless veterans, public broadcasting and local projects ranging from health care to rowing.

The new Republican governor vetoed more than 150 line items after the GOP-controlled Legislature already had chopped nearly $4 billion in spending.

Scott also vetoed about $165 million in college and university construction projects and eliminated all state funding - $4.8 million - for public television and radio. Local projects vetoed include $1 million for a medical and dental program in Lake Wakes and $5 million for a rowing facility in Sarasota County.

Other vetoed appropriations include $2 million for research on a plant disease that's threatening the state's multibillion-dollar citrus industry, $10 million for St. Johns River restoration, $6 million to help the Panhandle's economy recover from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and $3 million for a disadvantaged youth jobs program.

US appeals court upholds Fla. med. malpractice cap

A Florida law that caps the damages that victims can receive in medical malpractice cases was upheld Friday by the federal appeals court in Atlanta.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the challenge of the family of a medical malpractice victim who claimed the cap violated state and federal laws.

The court found that the Florida law, which caps noneconomic damages at about $500,000 per doctor in most cases, "passes muster" and dismissed claims from the victim's family that the law robbed them of their right to be justly compensated for medical mistakes.

The order also directed the Florida Supreme Court to address several state issues that it said were left unsettled, such as whether the cap violates the family's right to a jury trial under Florida law.

U.S. places near middle of annual peace ranking

China, Senegal, Egypt, Cuba and Indonesia are among the many nations ranked more peaceful than the U.S. according to the fifth annual Global Peace Index, which ranked 153 nations according to a set of 23 strict criteria that includes ongoing domestic and international conflict, societal security and militarization.

The U.S. ranks 82nd on the list, right behind Gabon, and just before Bangladesh.

Jacksonville City Council action May 24

Issue: Soccer complex expansion

What it means: The council is being asked to allot $1.5 million to add fields and other improvements to Patton Park, a popular soccer complex on Hodges Boulevard. The fields are maintained and operated by the First Coast Soccer Association on city-owned land. The money to be spent includes $500,000 previously committed by a developer.

Bill No. 2011-188

Action: Approved

Issue: City pension investments

What it means: Trustees of the general employee pension system want permission to invest up to 10 percent of the fund in "alternative" investments that could include hedge funds and private equity funds. Skeptics warn that hedge funds can carry extra risks, including uncertainty about what an investment is really worth.

Bill No. 2011-108

Action: Postponed to June 14

Issue: Park land swap

What it means: The council was asked to approve trading about 12 acres of city-owned land at Old Middleburg Road and Argyle Forest Boulevard for about 80 acres owned by land investment company AFI Associates. The city wants to build a regional park on the larger property.

Bill No. 2011-295

Action: Approved

No shortage of ‘turkeys’ in state budget

Despite a $4 billion budget shortfall that prompted Florida lawmakers to slash school funding, healthcare and other services, one area of government spending emerged unscathed: the big-dollar pork projects known in Capitol parlance as “turkeys.”

The business-backed Florida TaxWatch group Tuesday identified $202.9 million in “turkeys” — the most since 2007 — slipped into the $69.7 billion budget by lawmakers. Items earn the label because they were either inserted into the spending plan late in the session, without public debate, or funded even though the governor or state agencies never requested them.

Jacksonville region ranked third most dangerous in country for pedestrian deaths

On Tuesday Transportation for America, a Washington D.C. based advocacy group, released a report that found Jacksonville is the third most dangerous metro area in the country.

It found that from 2000-2009, 342 pedestrians were killed in the area.