With half an hour left in this year's regular legislative session, it's a virtual certainty that there will be no budget agreement.  It's not good or bad--it just means we'll have to keep fighting even harder to ensure that legislators know that they've already cut us beyond the bone and need to raise revenue.

About an hour ago, your hard work paid off for our retirement fund, with the House passing Senate Bill 207 with no amendments--meaning that as of July 1, 2010, there is no more double dipping.  The current double dippers have already cost PERA hundreds of millions of dollars, making your retirement less secure.  Due to legal concerns and complaints from the law enforcement community, legislators were not willing to take double dipping away from those already doing it, but soon this disastrous policy will come to an end for everyone else.  It's one of the biggest bills of the session, and it benefits every one of our retirees, current members, and future members.

We'll let you know about the dates for the special session soon.  In the meantime, be proud that you moved both houses so close to a budget that doesn't add to our cuts, and be ready to bring in even more workers, family members, and friends to help us win the next round of battles.  Gracias a todos!  --Carter