I’m writing this while sitting in the House Finance Committee after testifying in support of HB 78, a return to a defined benefit pension. Listening to the many testifiers from the state and school systems, I’m deeply saddened.

So many public servants are already struggling in retirement, or postponing their retirement because they know they will not be able to afford to survive on their current retirement accounts, especially with the recent market downturn.

I hope that this can be remedied soon, but I worry considering the long term effects of not investing in the state and giving our resources, including revenue, away to large corporations in the form of tax credits.

On another topic, we still haven’t seen a decision from the judge regarding the request for a preliminary injunction. Additionally, as expected, even the now repeatedly edited salary study has not been released.