Kentucky governor signs pension bill as special session ends

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin signed pension legislation on Wednesday after lawmakers delivered the bill he wanted to relieve regional universities and community social services agencies from crushing retirement costs.

Pension issues have cast a long shadow over the Republican governor's tenure in office, as he and lawmakers have struggled to shore up one of the country's worst-funded public pension systems.

The GOP-dominated Senate voted 27-11 on Wednesday to end work on the bill, which replaces a similar measure that Bevin vetoed in April after lawmakers had ended their regular session.

The measure took effect after Bevin's signature. Soon after that, the legislature ended the high-stakes special session that Bevin convened last Friday in the midst of his reelection campaign.

Bevin said the bill doesn't resolve the state's pension woes, but called it a "responsible and appropriate next step in moving toward financial solvency."

"But there will have to be more steps," he said. "We don't even know fully what they will be. Some of them will be determined by the impact of the steps that have been taken thus far."

The new law aims to bring relief to regional universities and quasi-governmental entities hit recently by massive increases in pension costs. The agencies provide crucial social safety-net services and include public health departments, community mental health centers and domestic violence shelters.

The measure reflecting Bevin's plan would spare regional universities and quasi-public agencies from the spike in pension costs by freezing rates at the much lower amounts for another year. It allows affected agencies to decide next year whether to stay in the state retirement system and face a big increase in contribution rates or agree to...