Legislative Overview of the 107th Congress
Frederick H. Nesbitt
NCPERS Executive Director/Legislative Counsel

Frederick H. Nesbitt, NCPERS Executive Director/Legislative Counsel discusses the legislative report on what happened in Washington, DC and the 50 state capitals as part of his written report, "The Washington Report." He called special attention to the passage of the public pension reforms that were enacted last year as part of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) and the impact on public sector plans. Nesbitt explained that one of the speakers this morning would talk about the provisions of EGTRRA and how states and pension plans must amend their laws and plan documents so participants can take full advantage of the pension changes and enhancements.  He explained that the 457 deferred comp plan regulations were expected in May, 2002 and that regulations relating to 403(b) and 401(k) plans could be expected next year. 

His report also included some political observations and concerns about Congress enacting legislation because of Enron, accidentally or intentionally including public sector plans, where there was not a problem similar to the private sector. Nesbitt also announced that the 2003 NCPERS Legislative Conference would be held in Washington, DC on February 3-5, 2003 and urged all NCPERS members to plan to attend to lobby their elected representatives.