Committee approves shorter rehiring wait for retired OPERS members; sponsor says retirement system remains fully funded

The committee advanced Senate Bill 134, which shortens the required waiting period for rehiring retired members of the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) from 12 months to six months.

Representative Bayshore, who presented the bill, said the intent is to return experienced employees to government service. Bayshore gave a fiscal illustration: "the assumption is if 2 percent of the current employees retire early, it'd cause an impact of 0.02 or approximately 23,000,000," he said, and added that OPERS was currently funded at about 107% with approximately $16 billion in assets.

Representative LePak asked whether the bill would primarily affect any particular group of state employees; Bayshore said he expected it to affect county employees in particular and stressed the goal of bringing experienced personnel back into the workforce.

Following questions, the committee opened the vote and reported SB 134 do‑pass with a 9‑0 tally.

Next steps: The bill will move forward in the legislative process.