TALLAHASSEE — Pushed by angry e-mails from constituents, state lawmakers are edging closer to approval of a bill that would block elected officials from "retiring" and returning to work to collect paychecks and pension.
On Thursday, by a vote of 106 to 10, House members approved a bill (H479) that would force any member of the Florida State Retirement System to remain off of the job for at least six months before returning to work for any public agency that is part of the system. That would include all of state government as well as about 900 cities and counties and all public colleges and universities.
The bill is a watered-down version of original efforts that would have banned all public employees from collecting state pensions and paychecks at the same time, but it would stop the spread of the more egregious double-dippers in the system.
No one who is currently double-dipping would be affected by the measure, which would affect only those retiring after Dec. 31, 2009. Lawmakers say they cannot legally change the terms of existing pensions.
Supporting the bill on the House floor Thursday, Rep. Bill Heller, D-St. Petersburg, said no other issue facing lawmakers this year has drawn as many e-mails from outraged citizens.
"It is something that impacts an awful lot of individuals," Heller said. "They feel very strongly about the issue."
Similar bills died last year as lawmakers struggled to reach a compromise that would eliminate double-dipping by highly paid managers and elected officials while retaining the rights of lower-paid employees to return to work and supplement small retirement checks.
Even opponents of the bill have acknowledged that some public officials are "gaming the system" and endangering the future of a pension system that is fully funded by taxpayers.
Rep. Rob Schenck, R-Spring Hill, sponsor of the House bills this year and last, responded to complaints from several lawmakers who noted that retirees from the military, the private sector or other states would be entitled to take public jobs in Florida and qualify for a future pension.
Schenck said the bill is a "reasonable approach" to closing a loophole created in 2001, when the Legislature approved a pension fund amendment to allow a Jacksonville legislator to draw his school board pension and his $30,000-a-year legislative salary.
Schenck's original bill would have banned state retirees from returning to the payroll for a year and banned the collection of simultaneous pensions and paychecks for two years. The compromise version reduces the time off to six months and prohibits collecting both checks for a year.
The compromise closely mirrors a Senate bill narrowly approved in committee Tuesday. Sen. Mike Fasano, R-Port Richey, also sponsored last year's bill and is trying again with help from Sens. Don Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, and Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland.
Fasano said he believes the compromise bill will pass both houses this year. It may get one more committee hearing but could go to the Senate floor any time.
The union that represents state employees and the Florida Sheriff's Association oppose the bill, saying it would keep lower-paid employees from returning to work to supplement their income. On the opposite said, the Police Benevolent Association, a union that represents most of the state's law enforcement community, says the bill would give younger, lower-ranking officers more chances to win promotions.
The 10 who voted against the bill Wednesday: Reps. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami; Marti Coley, R-Marianna; Gwyn Clarke-Reed, D-Pompano Beach; Faye Culp, R-Tampa; Betty Reed, D-Tampa; Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, D-Tallahassee; Elaine Schwartz, D-Hollywood; Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando; Perry Thurston, D-Fort Lauderdale; and Charles Van Sant, R-Palatka.
Lucy Morgan can be reached at lmorgan@sptimes.com or (850) 224-7263.
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