Ballots for the retiree representative to the PERS Board of Trustees will be mailed out on March 17, 2023. The deadline for receipt of ballots is April 21, 2023. The candidates in the runoff are George Dale and Bonnie Granger. Having retired members on the PERS Board that support maintaining existing benefits of PERS for current and future retirees is critically essential. To assist retiree members in making an informed decision, MRPEA is providing Candidate Qualifications, Candidate Surveys, and historical information about the recent vote of the PERS Board to increase employer contribution rates:
Candidate Qualifications: The work of the PERS Board involves complicated financial, legal, and administrative decision-making focused on maintaining the financial integrity and benefits of the retirement system.
George R. Dale (Clinton) • Mississippi College, master’s • Mississippi Department of Insurance, commissioner • Moss Point High School; teacher, coach, and principal • Administrative Assistant to Governor Bill Waller
I am completing my first term as a member of the PERS Board. It has been an honor to serve. During my term, I have not missed a board meeting. When I started on the Pers Board, we had a cash reserve of approximately 26.5 billion dollars. That amount has increased to around 36 billion dollars. This board has been very conservative with your retirement funds. I have championed the idea that retired teachers collect their pension, but be allowed to work under contract with the public school system. I would appreciate your vote. George Dale
Bonnie J. Granger (Ocean Springs) • Loyola University School of Law, Juris Doctorate • University of Southern Mississippi, master’s • Hattiesburg Public School District, chief financial officer • Certified Public Accountant • Attorney, Mississippi and Louisiana
I have vast knowledge and experience in government finance. My career began with the State Auditor’s Office and transitioned into public school district finance, where I served three districts as Finance Director. I received my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Accounting from the University of Southern Mississippi and my law degree from Loyola University. I am a licensed CPA and an attorney in Mississippi. My experience gives me an unparalleled advantage in understanding the PERS system. I strongly support maintaining both the health and member benefits of the PERS system for current and future retirees. Thank you for your support.
Candidate Surveys: MRPEA conducted surveys of each candidate to assess their support for maintaining current retirement system benefits. Members are urged to review the full response of each candidate to the survey. Below are the answers from the survey typed for viewing.
Recent vote of the PERS Board to increase employer contribution rates: At its meeting on December 20, 2022, the PERS Board, based on recommendations of the system’s actuaries and staff, voted to increase employer contributions to make PERS benefits sustainable now and into the future. An excerpt from the PERS Board Meeting Minutes that includes the vote of each member is below for your review. _____________
Minutes | Board of Trustees Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi December 20, 2022 | PERS Board Room Page 4
Motion: To increase the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi employer contribution rate from 17.4 percent to 22.4 percent as of October 1, 2023. • Made by: McCoy. • Seconded by: Hanna. • Discussion: None. • Voting for: Benson, Breland, Hanna, Howard, McCoy, Rutledge, and Smith. • Voting against: Dale, Graham, and McRae. • Absent: None. • Duly Passed _____________
Please check your mail and complete and return your ballot right away after carefully reviewing all of the information provided here. Make your choice for the person you believe will best serve the interests of current and future retirees. Also, please encourage other retirees to vote as well and share the information provided in this communication. Thank you in advance for your participation in this very important election. Your voice matters!!!
We have certainly continued to live in unprecedented times. With our state’s COVID-19 numbers setting daily goals, it is more important now than ever to stay up to date on the ever changing information that affects you. We are proud to help with that fight and look forward to serving you through these times.
If you haven’t yet, PLEASE make sure you renew your membership. And PLEASE forward this to someone you know who SHOULD be a member. Numbers speak volumes and we need YOU to help our voice be heard. As always, we continue to guard your retirement by monitoring PERS, possible legislation, and keeping a pulse on the state of the system. Thank you for your continued to support.
Emily Pote
MRPEA Executive Director
New Mask Mandate for 23 counties; 40% of filled ICU Beds contain COVID-19 patients
Positive test results reported to MSDH as of 6 p.m. yesterday. Tests may have been made during the past several days, and represent individuals who became ill a week ago or more. Repeated tests for the same individual are counted only once.
New deaths reported: 31
* 5 of these deaths occurred between June 30 and July 12, identified through death certificates.
COVID-19 related deaths reported to MSDH from hospitals, medical examiners and coroners.
Long-Term Care Facilities
New LTC cases: 30
New LTC deaths: 7
New cases and deaths, included in the total case count for today, among residents of long-term care facilities.
Active outbreaks: 154
An outbreak is considered any COVID-19 case in the staff or residents of a long-term care or residential facility.
Hospitalizations
Persons currently hospitalized in Mississippi for confirmed COVID-19: 943
Persons currently hospitalized in Mississippi for suspected COVID-19: 211
State Trend
Totals of all Mississippi COVID-19 cases and deaths for 2020.
Total COVID-19 cases: 45,524
Total COVID-19 related deaths: 1,389
Cases by Date of Illness
This chart tracks COVID-19 cases according to the date the person first became ill, rather than the date of test results. It’s the standard way of following the course of a disease in a population. The black average line helps identify upward or downward trending. (In the few cases where date of illness has not yet been determined, testing date is used.) Since we are still receiving reports of illnesses that began up to two weeks ago, expect the more recent dates on this chart to change.
New on Our Website
New county-level data: Updated summaries of the COVID-19 situation in each county are now on our website at http://HealthyMS.com/covid-19#county
Social distancing is still critical to stop the spread of COVID-19. Keep plenty of distance between yourself and others.
Wearing a mask or face covering can sharply reduce the risk of passing COVID-19 on to others. Wearing a mask is strong recommended whenever you are in public places with others around you.
Most people spreading COVID-19 do not know they are infected.
Remind others that precautions remain essential, and set an example by your actions.
PERS Board seeks nominations for municipal representative
June 25, 2020
The PERS Board of Trustees is seeking candidate nominations for its municipal employee representative position. The six-year term will begin January 1, 2021, and end December 31, 2026.
Deadline for nominations is 5 p.m., July 27, 2020, JUST 6 DAYS AWAY!!!
Age to allow for in-service benefit distribution lowered from 62 to 591/2 for local-elected officials
Members serving in municipal or county elected office who decide to retire may continue in office at retirement without the required 90-day break in service provided they have reached age 59½. A retiree elected to a municipal or county elected position may either cancel his or her retirement and return to work (accruing additional service credit while receiving the salary for the position) or remain in retirement and waive the salary or receive compensation not to exceed 25 percent of his or her average compensation at retirement. If a retiree chooses to serve in local elected office and continue in retirement, he or she must file annually PERS Form 9C, County/Municipal Elected Official Reemployment Acknowledgement/Election.
The Bipartisan American Miners Act of 2019 reduced the age for in-service distribution from 62 to 59½ for qualified 401(a) plans like PERS. While this federal change was optional for retirement plans to implement, Mississippi law allows municipal and county elected officials to retire and continue in elective service once they have reached the age that will not result in a prohibited in-service distribution as defined by the Internal Revenue Service. That age is now 59½. The member must meet all other vesting requirements for retirement as found in Mississippi law.
Watson asking attorney general whether Mississippi Legislature made it harder to vote in pandemic
by Bobby Harrison, Mississippi Today
July 20, 2020
Secretary of State Michael Watson is asking for an official opinion from Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office about whether a bill passed by the state Legislature will make it more difficult for Mississippians to vote if COVID-19 is still an issue during the Nov. 3 election.
The bill, which was signed into law earlier this month by Gov. Tate Reeves, specifies people can vote early during the pandemic if:
They are under a physician-imposed quarantine related to the coronavirus.
They are providing care for a dependent under quarantine.
Watson is asking the attorney general to issue an opinion on whether the new language conflicts with existing language that gave local circuit clerks discretion in allowing people to vote early. In May, during a joint meeting of the House and Senate elections committees, Watson said that existing law could be used to allow people to vote early because of concerns about COVID-19 at the discretion of the circuit clerks. The language allowed people to vote early because of “a temporary disability.”
Democrats on the committees wanted the law expanded so that the circuit clerks did not have so much discretion on whether to allow people to vote early. But by the same token, many Democrats praised the Republican Watson for saying the language related to “temporary disability” was broad enough so that circuit clerks could interpret it to allow people who did not want to be in a crowded polling place to perhaps vote early.
Watson said he was asking for the opinion after Mississippi Today asked whether the new language saying a person had to be in quarantine to vote early meant circuit clerks could no longer use the old language concerning the temporary disability to allow people to vote early to avoid possible exposure to the coronavirus in a crowded precinct on election day.
“In an attempt to provide further guidance to our county election officials, our office will be submitting a request to the Attorney General’s office for an official opinion regarding the definition of a ‘physician-imposed quarantine,’ and whether or not that qualifying language removes circuit clerk’s ability to interpret what is included as a ‘temporary disability,’” Watson said in a statement.
He said during debate of the bill in the Legislature, supporters of the bill said the excuse to vote early could be granted by “a general statement by a licensed physician or government official, such as the state health officer, advising people to enter into a self-imposed quarantine.” Watson added, “Our goal is to ensure all counties are acting in the best interest of voters while upholding the integrity of the general election.”
The Jackson Clarion-Ledger quoted Watson as saying, “The Legislature narrowed it down further than the former law we had.”
Senate Elections Chair Jennifer Branning, R-Philadelphia, said “it’s not the intent (of the legislation) to make it harder to vote.” She said that the language referencing the quarantine to vote early should not remove the circuit clerk’s ability to use the “temporary disability” language.
House Elections Chair Jim Beckett, R-Bruce, said there was no discussion during the legislative session of trying to prevent the use of the exiting language referencing “temporary disability” to allow people to vote early.
“That was never my intent,” he said.
Mississippi is among the minority of states that do not have no excuse early voting. In Mississippi, a voter normally must be disabled, over the age of 65 or away from home to vote early by mail or in person.
Mississippi also is the only state to require both the request for an absentee ballot and the ballot itself to be notarized. Because of the coronavirus, most states have taken steps to make it easier to vote this November to try to avoid long lines at the polling places and to attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Mississippi has taken a few steps, such as giving an absentee ballot five days to arrive at the circuit clerk’s office as long as it is postmarked by election day. The old law required it to be postmarked before election day. And the other significant step was the quarantine language, which in reality, might make it more difficult to vote early.
Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, said the changes made in June are inadequate to deal with the pandemic. He said the Legislature did not do its job to make it easier for Mississippians to vote during the pandemic.
“It is the most difficult election process in the country,” he said. “We need to do better.”
Watson said he proposed to the Legislature to give the secretary of state the authority to allow people to vote early in person if under an emergency declared by the governor or the president. Legislative leaders rejected the language.
Watson said before debate on the voting legislation began in earnest that he supported expanding early in-person voting, but not mail-in voting.
The Legislature also opted not to provide about $15 million in federal funds to purchase optical ballot scanner machines for about 68 counties that do not currently have them. Beckett said the purpose of the machines was “reducing our human contact during elections.”
Officials said other steps to ensure safety will be taken, such as social distancing, increasing the number of poll workers, requiring poll workers to wear personal protection equipment and continuing sanitizing of the polling places.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
