The House and Senate Competitiveness Committees voted on Tuesday to approve a package of bills that aim to assess and address underfunded pension and retirement health care systems in local Michigan communities.
The legislature is considering changes after the Responsible Retirement Reform for Local Government Task Force found a collective $7.46 billion in unfunded pension liabilities and $10.13 billion in unfunded health care liabilities lurking in local governments' finances.
The task force couldn't agree on the details of how to fix it, but an agreement between House and Senate leaders, along with Gov. Rick Snyder, was the topic of hearings at the state capitol on Tuesday, when both the House Competitiveness Committee and Senate Competitiveness Committee held testimony on identical, 16-bill packages.