Plan would allow unions to seek lower contribution rates at the negotiating table in 2014 rather than having them imposed by the state, source sa
State Senate President Stephen Sweeney in this 2010 file photo. Sources say the senate president supports a health benefit proposal that would allow public workers to negotiate costs later.TRENTON — State Senate President Stephen Sweeney supports a compromise plan being pushed by his Assembly counterpart that would force public employees to pay more for health benefits but allow them to negotiate down the costs by 2014, according to a top legislative aide.
The plan would allow unions to seek lower contribution rates at the negotiating table in 2014 rather than having them imposed by the state, according to sources.
The sunset provision was first pushed by Assembly Speaker Shelia Oliver (D-Essex) as a way to get to reluctant Democrats to sign on to a bill that would shift more of the costs of pension and health benefits onto the state's public workers, along with retirees.
Sweeney supports the sunset provision, according to Derek Rose man, a spokesman for the Senate Democrats.
With the state's top two legislative leaders supporting the compromise proposal, the remaining question is whether Gov. Chris Christie will join them.
Kevin Roberts, a Christie spokesman, said the governor had no comment on either the overhaul plan or the sunset provision.
The overhaul, hammered out between Sweeney and Christie, got a chilly reception in the Assembly. It got a similar reception in the Senate, but Sweeney plans on relying on Republicans to move the bill, a move that Oliver has thus far refused to follow.
Oliver has said she would not post the bill without "significant" support from Assembly Democrats. It's unclear whether the sunset provision has attracted enough Democrats to meet that self-imposed threshold.
Under the Sweeney bill, all state and local public employees would pay a percentage of their health care premiums in a tiered system based on their salary.
All employees who earn more than $110,000 would pay 35 percent of their premiums, while those at the other end of the pay scale would pay 3 percent, records show.
A public employee, for example, who earns $60,000 and is enrolled in a family plan would pay 17 percent of the $19,000 annual premium, or about 5.4 percent of the employee's salary.
The bill would also require public workers to pay more of their salaries into the troubled pension system and give up annual cost-of-living increases. New employees would have to work 30 years rather than 25 years to be eligible for retirement benefits.
Previous Coverage:
• Deal to change N.J. public workers' pensions, benefits is struck by Christie, Sweeney
• Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver stalls legislation dealing with changes in pensions, benefits
• N.J. Gov. Christie, public workers union fight over changes in employee health benefits
• Christie, unions spar over history of skipping collective bargaining to change health benefits
• League of Municipalities president calls on Legislature for pension, benefit reform
• N.J. Senate President Sweeney says costs of benefits are breaking local government budgets