HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, By 2032, the federal Social Security Trust Fund will 1-2 likely be unable to meet its obligations, and comprehensive reform 1-3 is necessary to ensure its viability both for present and future 1-4 beneficiaries; and 1-5 WHEREAS, Legislation on the subject is anticipated in the 1-6 106th Congress, and with the federal government searching for 1-7 avenues to restore solvency to the failing fund, attention has 1-8 turned to the option of mandated coverage for newly hired employees 1-9 of previously noncovered state and local governments; and 1-10 WHEREAS, Such governments were initially excluded from Social 1-11 Security participation when the system was established in 1935, as 1-12 it was considered unconstitutional for the federal government to 1-13 tax counterpart governments at the state and local levels; and 1-14 WHEREAS, Consequently, Texas state and local governments 1-15 established independent retirement plans to meet the needs of their 1-16 employees, and local government participation in Social Security 1-17 remains optional, although state employees are now covered by both 1-18 Social Security and state retirement plans; and 1-19 WHEREAS, Mandating coverage on newly hired employees of 1-20 previously noncovered governments, according to the Social Security 1-21 Advisory Council, would extend the solvency of the Social Security 1-22 Trust Fund by a mere two years; and 1-23 WHEREAS, Such mandated coverage would result in a tax 1-24 increase of 6.2 percent each for local government employees and 2-1 local government employers, for a combined tax increase of 12.4 2-2 percent; and 2-3 WHEREAS, There currently are over 562,000 noncovered public 2-4 employees in Texas, including public school teachers and 2-5 administrators, public safety officers, and large numbers of city, 2-6 county, and special district employees; and 2-7 WHEREAS, Estimates prepared by the Texas Association of 2-8 Public Employees Retirement Systems project a cost of at least 2-9 $6.87 billion to Texas local government employers, particularly 2-10 school districts, and newly hired workers over the first 10 years 2-11 of implementation; and 2-12 WHEREAS, City and county governments, in order to pay the new 2-13 federal tax, might have no choice but to reduce services such as 2-14 law enforcement, fire protection, libraries, public health, 2-15 programs for senior citizens and the disabled, parks and 2-16 recreation, and refuse collection and recycling; and 2-17 WHEREAS, School districts would experience a new source of 2-18 pressure toward increasing property taxes, and local government 2-19 retirement plans generally might need to be reduced due to the cost 2-20 imposed by mandatory Social Security coverage; and 2-21 WHEREAS, The proposed new tax is a shift of a federal burden 2-22 to local communities to solve a federal problem that our state and 2-23 local governments had no hand in creating, and under which there 2-24 would be no benefit paid to Texas workers for more than a 2-25 generation; now, therefore, be it 2-26 RESOLVED, That the 76th Legislature of the State of Texas 2-27 hereby memorialize the Congress of the United States and urge the 3-1 president of the United States in the strongest possible terms to 3-2 refrain from the inclusion of mandatory Social Security coverage 3-3 for presently noncovered state and local government employees in 3-4 any Social Security reform legislation; and, be it further 3-5 RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official 3-6 copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to 3-7 the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of 3-8 the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of 3-9 the Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this 3-10 resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a 3-11 memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. Telford _______________________________ _______________________________ President of the Senate Speaker of the House I certify that H.C.R. No. 249 was adopted by the House on May 29, 1999, by a non-record vote. _______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House I certify that H.C.R. No. 249 was adopted by the Senate on May 30, 1999, by a viva-voce vote. _______________________________ Secretary of the Senate APPROVED: _____________________ Date _____________________ Governor