Bill Description: This bill offers some state employees special classification in order to retire at an earlier age than most employees.

Rating: -2

Does it increase government redistribution of wealth? Examples include the use of tax policy or other incentives to reward specific interest groups, businesses, politicians, or government employees with special favors or perks; transfer payments; and hiring additional government employees.

This bill is designed to provide a more beneficial retirement package through the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho for emergency dispatchers for the Idaho State Police, the Department of Health and Welfare, county sheriff’s or city police departments. Department of Juvenile Corrections and county juvenile detention or probation employees would also be eligible for this prefered retirement package.

These corrections officers and dispatchers would begin receiving retirement benefits when the sum of their years of service to the state and their ages equal 80. Other state employees must wait until their sum reaches 90 years. An example of this so-called “rule of 80” would be a 49-year-old being eligible for retirement after having worked for the state for 31 years.

Other state employees of similar training and certification would not get this benefit. This provision grants emergency dispatchers the same retirement status as police officers without requiring them to obtain  Peace officer Standards and Training (POST) certification as police officers must. Other employees not required to have this additional certification are not granted this increased status. (-1)

Does it directly or indirectly create or increase any taxes, fees, or other assessments? Conversely, does it eliminate or reduce any taxes, fees, or other assessments? 


The shorter time frame for retirement raises the cost of government because the state employer must increase payments to the pension fund for each early retiree. This  increase of 0.34 percent for the employing agency means an increase in the cost to taxpayers of $182,600. Of that total, county emergency dispatchers will cost $73,500; juvenile detention and probation positions, $72,100; juvenile corrections, $29,000;  Idaho State Police, $6,400; and the Department of Health and Welfare, $1,600. (-1)