Both houses of the State Legislature adjourned Monday sine die (without a future date being designated). That could mean that there will be no special session this year, which we have seen all too often in recent sessions. The main accomplishments have been discussed here in recent weeks including $1 billion/year in water funding for 20 years, a property tax break that includes a $200,000 homestead exemption for seniors, and $8.5 billion for teacher pay raises, operating expenses, campus safety, special education, etc. The $8.5 billion for schools and teachers has been praised by the state’s School Board Association and the state’s PTA organization. Within that school funding bill, $4.2 billion is reserved for teacher pay increases, the largest in state history.
Government Pensions
Many retired teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other civil service employees discovered that the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Prevention (WEP) had been repealed by what is called the Social Security Fairness Act signed into law by former President Biden (or perhaps by his autopen) in January.
