Lawmakers are set to return to the Statehouse tomorrow (WED) to start wrapping up the 2011 legislative session. Anthony Hensley, of Topeka, is the top Democrat in the Senate. He believes one of the biggest issues lawmakers need to tackle is a deficit in the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System, or KPERS. Hensley says there are thousands of working and retired Kansans who rely on KPERS.
The system faces a multibillion dollar deficit over the coming decades. A Senate plan would have employers and workers paying more into KPERS. A House proposal would focus on moving workers out of the system, into 401(k)-style plans. A conference committee is working on a compromise between the two bills.