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White smoke from the Capitol as governor and Republican leaders make deal

Teacher retirement changes are moving through the legislature again. This time with the governor on board and a committee hearing scheduled for early tomorrow.

The governor has been brought back into budget and teacher retirement negotiations.

While some changes may be made to budgets that have already passed through conference committees, the spotlight will be on the new teacher retirement bills.

Speaker of the House, Tom Leonard says the current retirement plan has put the state into debt.

“As we look down the road, the biggest cost is continuing to dig this hole. And what this plan does is ensure that we will no longer dig this hole. We will stop the digging.”

Democrats and many teachers argue that increasing the cost of a pension – which this plan does – would make the teaching profession less attractive. Leonard says teachers want portability, which the 401k option in their plan gives teachers.