H. 3066 creates a department of administration and, among other things, moves the employee/retiree health insurance program from the Budget and Control Board to the new Department of Administration, accountable to the top elected official in SC.
I support moving the System away from the Budget and Control Board for the very reason that it has been under the watch of the Board that the unfunded liability has grown to $18 billion this year. The answer to your question of “how could this happen” lies in the fact that politicians simply made benefit promises that cost more than the System took in over the last decade. Moreover, the Board sanctioned actuarial assumptions that masked the problem during all of those years.
The System is underfunded far beyond the capacity of its ability to catch up through investments or the ability of the taxpayers to make the necessary cash infusion. Your thoughts on future benefit changes are good ones, and they will be pursued. But, I cannot support leaving in place the same oversight authority that led us into this predicament.
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