OFFICE OF GOV. BILL RITTER JR.
WWW.COLORADO.GOV/GOVERNOR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, FEB. 23, 2010

CONTACTS
Evan Dreyer, Megan Castle

GOV. RITTER SIGNS BIPARTISAN PERA REFORM BILL INTO LAW TODAY

Gov. Bill Ritter today signed Senate Bill 10-001, bipartisan legislation that reforms Colorado’s Public Employees Retirement Association pension fund for nearly 450,000 public employees and retirees statewide.

The bill − sponsored by Senate President Brandon Shaffer, Sen. Josh Penry and Rep. Andy Kerr − keeps the PERA fund from becoming insolvent and unable to pay retirement benefits within the next 30 years.

“Thank you and congratulations to the bipartisan sponsors and supporters of this legislation, as well as State Treasurer Cary Kennedy and the PERA Board for helping to craft this compromise legislation,” Gov. Ritter said. “This legislation will keep the PERA fund solvent and allow the system to meet its obligations to current and future retirees. We are all confronting the harsh economic realities of the worst recession since the Great Depression. This is a fiscally responsible bill, and it represents another difficult but necessary decision that will require shared sacrifice and shared solutions from public employers and employees alike without imposing an unfair or undue burden on either group.”

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