After the Session ends, those of us who have jobs have to catch up on work which explains why I have not been making regular updates. However, that does not mean that I have not been busy on the political front. Below are a couple of committees that I am involved with –
Caucus Tax Reform Advisory Committee
The House Republican Caucus formed a committee this summer to make tax reform recommendations for next year’s agenda. Eighteen members make up the committee with me as the chairman.
We have had three public meetings to date with tax reform groups and CPA’s. I have asked the members to review the TRAC report. I have also supplied them with similar reports from other states so that we can understand what other approaches to tax reform are being considered. We will be hearing from two economists before we form our recommendations. I have put great effort into building the necessary foundation for each member to be able to address a very complex subject.
I have not commented specifically on what recommendations that the committee might possibly make. We expect to make a report to the Caucus by December.
House Pension Review Committee
Though I am not a member of the Ways & Means Committee, I have been sitting in on their ad-hoc committee meetings to study the state retirement system. As the owner of a pension compliance firm, I actually have some understanding of the problems facing the system.
Currently the system is $17 billion underfunded which means that reforms must be made sooner rather than later. We expect to review several recommendations from the plan’s consulting actuaries this October.