Committee clears bill tightening how administrators' annual leave counts toward retirement

The House State Government Committee unanimously approved Senate Bill 127, which would change how annual leave for some school administrators is counted toward final retirement pensions under the Teachers Retirement System.

Senator Jimmy Higdon said the bill preserves accumulated leave through July 31, 2026 but limits future annual‑leave credit for retirement calculations to five days per year. "What this bill does, it simply says that anything you have accumulated up till July 31, 2026 is preserved... going forward, you can only accumulate five annual leave days a year going forward [that count toward retirement]," Higdon said.

Committee members had no substantive questions and moved the bill with a committee substitute. The secretary recorded 19 yea votes and no nays. Senator Higdon said the proposal is intended to reduce wide disparities among school districts in how annual leave is treated for retirement calculations.

The bill now moves to the full House for floor consideration.