PENN TWP — Butler business owners told legislators representing Butler County about their concerns over pension reform and reducing the Department of Drug and Alcohol with increasing statewide opioid and heroin addiction problems.

Business owners had the opportunity to question state legislators Friday at the annual legislative breakfast organized by the Butler County Chamber of Commerce at Butler Country Club.

State Rep. Tedd Nesbit, R-8th, said the current proposal for state pension reform could be the best option to address flaws in the current system and protect the taxpayers who foot the bill.

“For teachers who are now working or retired, your pensions are secure. We’re looking toward change for the betterment of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by moving toward a defined contribution-type plan for new hires. There’s a good deal of resistance in that but I think we have a plan that’s recently been crafted that could work,” Nesbit said.

State Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-21st, agreed that a defined contribution plan for new employees is the key to getting past the roadblocks on pension reform.

“We can give the school districts more and more money every year, but all that money we give them comes back to the pension fund. We have to stop the bleeding there. The closer we can get to a defined contribution system for new employees, the better we’ll be.”

State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-12th, said although the proposal is reasonable they still don’t have the backing of both houses required to move forward.

“We still don’t know have the 102 votes in the house and the 26 votes in the senate and that the governor will actually sign it. We’re going to continue to fight for pension reform that actually protects the taxpayers of the state and shifts the risk away from those taxpayers,” Metcalfe said. “They’re on the hook right now for a $60 billion plus unfunded liability in the state employees and school employees pension plans.”

Legislators were questioned about the strength of the teachers’ unions andhow the unions are affecting pension reform.

Metcalfe said the unions are creating the problems that continue to stall pension reform.

“They (teachers’ unions) are using taxpayer dollars to advance their own political agenda. It’s not something that should be allowed. The unions are powerful. The PSEA is one of the most powerful PACs (political action committee) in the state. ... The public sector unions own the Democratic Caucuses in Harrisburg and they own a few of the Republican members also. That’s why we have such a hard time moving in majority because there are so many people who have been bought off by the unions and fear the unions if they don’t stay with them.”

State Rep. Aaron Bernstine, R-10th, agreed that the teachers’ unions are the major obstruction to successful pension reform.

“The premise behind this is that we don’t spend enough money in education. The truth is, depending on which numbers you look at, we spend $17,504 per student in K-12 education across the entire state of Pennsylvania. That’s the third highest in the entire country. The problem is that money doesn’t go to the classroom,” Bernstine said. “If the PSEA came out and said we want pension reform that would get all the votes we need. We have to stand up to them and call them out for what they are, but the Democratic Caucus won’t. They’re petrified of them.”

Legislators also were questioned about necessity for reducing the Department of Drug and Alcohol in the face of the increasing state drug epidemic.

Gov. Tom Wolf announced in January the creation of a Department of Health and Human Services combining the services of the Departments of Aging, Drug and Alcohol Programs, Health, and Human Services to eliminate duplicative processes and reduce the state budget.

Hutchinson said, while he believes there should be some streamlining of services, eliminating the drug and alcohol cabinet position would be a mistake.

“The governor is saying this is his top priority (opioid epidemic) and then to say we’re going to do away with your cabinet level position even though this is my top priority is sending a mixed message. I think we need a full-time advocate who directly reports to the governor about the drug and alcohol problem in Pennsylvania,” Hutchinson said.

“We do have to talk about efficiency. I’m always willing to talk about how we structure agencies and providers to make the most efficient use of taxpayer dollars,” he said.

State Rep. R. Lee James, R-64th, said he doesn’t believe the merger of state departments will happen this year.

“I think it was something of a trial balloon with the pretense that by somehow merging these four organizations the services would still be rendered at the same or better level.” James said. “Anyone that’s in business knows that that’s not enough. The savings comes from reduction in personnel. There is no plan to my knowledge to shrink administration. Until that plan gets some flesh on its bones, I don’t see it going anywhere this year.”

Metcalfe said Wolf’s proposal to eliminate service duplication, while at the same time proposing both increased spending and taxes in the coming year, is an “illusion.”

“We have advanced legislation to put a performance budgeting process in place. Then we can ensure when an agency or department is going to receive tax dollars, they have to show they’ve met their criteria and they’re actually performing and producing for what we expected their mission to be,” he said.

“This man (Gov. Wolf) is not out there trying to find efficiencies. It’s just an illusion to say we’re going to merge departments. But at the end of the day, if it doesn’t fix anything then we should hold his feet to the fire to produce a budget that’s actually going to produce results for the taxpayers of Pennsylvania.”

The annual Legislative Breakfast was sponsored by XTO Energy, Gateway, and Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau.