ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 3, 1996 TAG: 9603040035
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: PETER BAKER THE WASHINGTON POST
The Virginia General Assembly is preparing to change state law in a way that could allow several of its members to boost their retirement benefits after leaving office, in one case by at least $20,000 a year.
The measure would permit lawmakers who once worked for local governments to count that tenure when calculating their state pensions. Because total length of service is a key factor in that calculation, the result would be bigger retirement checks.
The provision would apply to any state employee who worked for a city or county government that does not belong to the Virginia Retirement System. The bill would allow - but not require - local governments to transfer retirement credit to the state system. Many of the state's major cities would be affected.
The bill already has passed the Senate, and it recently cleared a key House Appropriations subcommittee.
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Benjamin Lambert, D-Richmond, said last week that his purpose was simply to allow portability of pension plans.
"You had some members of the General Assembly ... and they had retirement plans and they needed to transfer [them] to the state, and that's all it was," Lambert said.
The bill could benefit about 3,100 people, Lambert said. He said those people should not be punished ``because the bill might benefit one or two legislators.''
Among those who could be affected are Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, a former City Council member; Sen. Henry Marsh, D-Richmond, a former mayor; Sen. Warren Barry, R-Fairfax, a former court clerk, and Sen. Marty Williams, R-Newport News, a former city council member.
Several lawmakers denied that they were pushing the measure, but defended it as a fair deal for both politicians and ordinary workers. "People who serve in one end of government could move back and forth to wherever their expertise could best be used," Barry said. "It does make some sense. It's probably one of the first times in government where I find myself benefiting from something."
Pensions for public officials are a perennial hot-potato issue at every level of government, a touchstone for a public angered by what it sees as politicians taking care of their own interests.
In 1992, the legislature overrode a governor's veto for the first time in state history when then-Gov. Douglas Wilder tried to kill a plan to sweeten the retirement pot for some of its own. Asked about this year's bill during his monthly radio call-in show, Gov. George Allen said: ``It's certainly not a priority as far as I'm concerned. I don't think that's what taxpayers expect.''
One watchdog group said the bill could stir the same resentment among Virginia voters. "With the lax conflict-of-interest laws in this state, it would just raise Virginians' eyebrows even more by passing this kind of legislation," said Julie Lapham, executive director of Common Cause of Virginia. "In other words, it's stupid."
Some lawmakers consider the issue one of simple fairness.
"You ought to be given credit at some point for your total service in government, no matter whether it was local or state," Edwards said. "That seems only fair and logical."
Officials at the Virginia Retirement System say they sought the bill after a study of the public policy implications showed it could assist the state in recruiting senior workers from municipal governments. Helping politicians was not the motivation, they added.
"I can't think of a logical reason why someone would oppose it," retirement system spokesman Bill Sullivan said. "There have been real cases where people have been offered jobs but had to turn them down because, they said, 'I'm not about to lose my retirement.'"
Even with that rationale to shield them, legislators are confronted with the question of political self-interest. Williams and Edwards suggested their retirement checks would increase little. Marsh said he would not benefit immediately because, under the bill, cities can opt not to allow the retirement credit to transfer, and the current Richmond administration opposes it.
Barry, the senator from Fairfax, would be a chief beneficiary. He estimated that by adding his eight years as the elected clerk of the Fairfax County Circuit Court to 22 years of legislative service by the end of his term in 2000, his pension probably would double to about $40,000 a year.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1996by CNB