Statesman Journal
June 24th, 2014
Two bills passed by the Oregon Legislature last year violate both the United States and Oregon constitutions on several counts, according to the first two briefs filed in a case challenging Senate Bills 822 and 861 before the Oregon Supreme Court.
The briefs together argue that the state violated contracts with retirees in the Public Employees Retirement System without sufficient legal justification. Given that the PERS fund had no fiscal crisis, it was illegal to breach those contracts to pay for other services, such as education, they argued.
Both bills reduced the annual cost-of-living adjustment for PERS retirees; SB 822 also eliminated a state income tax "remedy" paid to retirees who don't live in Oregon.
They were passed as part of a package that increased funding for K-12 education, among other things and were almost immediately challenged in court.