This afternoon, HB 2875 passed out of the Subcommittee On General Government on a unanimous vote. The bill now heads to the full Joint Ways and Means Committee for a vote this Friday. This is an important bill for protecting PERS retiree benefits. Contact the committee today and let them know that you support HB…

We are asking OPRI members to send an email or letter of support for HB 2875. This bill is important for protecting the hard-earned benefits of PERS members. It would do two things: HB 2875 would allow retirees to more quickly reinstate Tax Remedy Payments if they are unable to confirm their Oregon residency by…

PERS legislation took a step forward today as bills impacting members passed out of committee. OPRI’s two priority bills – HB 2867 and HB 2375 – were combined into a single bill, HB 2875, which was passed out of the House Committee on Business and Labor. HB 2867 was introduced by OPRI as a way…

OPRI continues to hear from retirees who are seeing their Income Tax Remedy benefits eliminated when they inadvertently are unable to certify residency with PERS. This is why OPRI has introduced House Bill 2867. This bill would more quickly reinstate Tax Remedy Payments for retirees who are unable to timely confirm their Oregon residency prior…

Charles Luukinen has spent a lifetime serving the community, both personally and professionally. For more than 20 years, he served Oregonians as a judge. He now works on behalf of public employee retirees as a member of the OPRI Board of Directors. Luukinen began his judicial career in 1986 as a District Court Judge. He…

By The Oregonian Editorial Board Gov. Kate Brown defended her decision to prioritize teachers for the COVID-19 vaccine as one of the tough calls she’s had to make amid a vaccine shortage. Reopening schools is paramount and necessitates immunizing educators, she said, pointing out the many shortcomings of remote learning, the social isolation students are experiencing…

OPRI is focused on protecting the hard-earned benefits of PERS retirees during the 2021 Legislative Session with the introduction of a bill that would more quickly reinstate Tax Remedy Payments for retirees who are either unable to timely confirm their Oregon residency or who establish Oregon residency during the year. HB 2867 is introduced by…

When Deanna Woods retired, she wondered what she would do with her time. But filling her time has not been a problem. The newest OPRI Board member shares that the key is to keep learning and to do something that makes a difference. Throughout her career, Deanna served in the Portland Public Schools, where she…

On August 6, 2020, the Oregon Supreme Court denied the challenge brought forward by public employee unions regarding pension benefit reductions which passed during the 2019 Legislative Session through Senate Bill 1049. The lawsuit alleged that SB 1049 was unconstitutional and sought to overturn provisions of the law. Here is a look back at the…