In 2013, the Alabama legislature passed a budget that included a 2 percent pay raise for public school teachers, the first raise they’d seen since 2007 due to the downturn in the economy.
Gov. Robert Bentley says he will push the legislature to pass another teacher pay raise during the upcoming session. Unfortunately for teachers, ObamaCare could prevent that from happening.
The legislature appropriated roughly $5.75 billion for education-related expenses in the current Fiscal Year. After considering economic projections and taking into account the Rolling Reserve Act — which caps spending to force the state government to live within its means — budget chairmen expect to be able to appropriate an additional $135 million next Fiscal Year.
However, PEEHIP, which provides health insurance benefits for Alabama’s active and retired education employees, is publicly saying they are facing a $220 million shortfall in the coming year. Privately, they’re asking legislative leaders to increase their line in the budget by at least $85-90 million.
Regardless of what the final number ends up being, PEEHIP is going to have to find additional dollars to account for cost increases attributable to ObamaCare, and teachers’ health insurance premiums could increase to pay for those added costs even if the Legislature can provide additional funding. (Editor’s note: premiums are set by PEEHIP, not the legislature)
And why, exactly, is PEEHIP in such trouble?
ObamaCare.
Even the typically left-leaning Anniston Star noted that PEEHIP is desperately in need of additional money “largely due to increases in costs under the Affordable Care Act.”
House Budget Chairman Bill Poole, R-Tuscaloosa, told Yellowhammer on Monday that the already-strained state budgets will soon feel the additional weight of the president’s healthcare law.
“ObamaCare is driving up the cost of healthcare for citizens and employers in Alabama, and the State of Alabama employs a lot of people, including teachers,” Poole said. “It is going to put a lot of strain and stress on the state’s budgets to try to pay for these added costs.”
Poole noted that the legislature also has a constitutionally mandated obligation to repay the state’s Rainy Day Fund, which could be owed as much as $128 million, depending on how much money the state ultimately brings in this year.
“Given the constitutional obligation we have to pay back the Rainy Day account, we’re trying to determine how much revenue will be left to appropriate not just for PEEHIP, but also for teacher salaries, classrooms, textbooks, transportation and other essential education functions,” Poole said.
Democrats are already lining up to propose tax increases, but both Gov. Bentley and legislative leaders have indicated that tax hikes are off the table.
Rep. Craig Ford, D-Gadsden, has also trotted out the state lottery again, saying the state could siphon off lottery revenue to give teachers a raise.
Republicans say the lottery is a non-starter.
The legislature is about a week away from the start of the 2014 session, meaning Alabama lawmakers will soon find themselves in the unenviable position of implementing cuts necessitated by a law they had nothing to do with passing.
Families all over the state are feeling the pinch of ObamaCare, now it looks like teachers may be the next to get hit.
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
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