On a strict party line vote, members of the Senate Education Committee have approved moving SB 1089 (http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2013/S1089.htm) to the floor with a “do pass” recommendation. The IEA opposes the measure which would repeal the Early Retirement Incentive Program (ERIP) for teachers, a program which has been in place since 1996 and, based on calculations by the IEA, has saved the state nearly $100 million over the past 14 years.
This legislation is another of the many pieces of Proposition 1 that lawmakers and others are trying to resurrect this session after more than 57% of Idahoans rejected the law in November.
If approved by the legislature and signed into law by the governor, SB 1089 would remove this program and make it impossible for teachers who are unable to reach the “Rule of 90” from retiring without significant financial penalty. The bill now moves to the full Senate.
