I'm happy to report that HB2226 went to the Governor today and will be signed asap. This was the remedy bill to address the problem for those agencies that denied concealed weapon permits under Federal HR218 because they couldn't do background checks because of some FBI rule that disallowed access for that purpose. We owe a big thank you to Rep. Mark Ericks who found sponsors for this bill to fix the problem and to WACOPS lobbyist Lee Reaves who worked it through the legislative system for us. Thanks to both for their help.

Sincerely,
Ken Crowder
WACOPS Retired Pos. #8

Webmaster's Note: HB 2226 deals with the right of retired law enforcement officers to carry a concealed weapon in any State.  Many retired officers seeking such authority have been blocked by some bureaucratic rules.  This bill corrects that problem.  For more information about this bill, click here.

LEOFF I EMPLOYERS PUT ON NOTICE THAT FAILURE TO PAY BOARD APPROVED HEALTHCARE EXPENSES WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.

The projected COLA based on calculations from the Bureau of Labor Statistics index will be 0.44% effective April 1, 2010.  This number is not official until verified by the Plan Administrator (DRS), but we are confident it is accurate.

The amount might be different depending on your actual date of retirement, but the 0.44% applies to almost everyone.  For example, if you retired after April 2, 2009 you will not get a COLA. 

Also, if you are retired under a prior act such as RCW 41.20 and you are entitled to an adjustment based on that system you will not see a change in the net amount you receive.  Your city check will go down a few dollars and the state check will go up the same amount. 

LEOFF 1 (RCW 41.26.240)
Retirement Date	Adjustments
April 2, 2009 - March 30, 2010	0.00%
January 1, 2009 - April 1, 2009	0.44%
April 2, 2008 - December 31, 2008	4.94%
Prior to April 2, 2008	0.44%

In our article "How to Calculate the COLA" we showed each of the steps needed to acquire the information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and to calculate the amount of the COLA.  In this article we complete the calculation for the 2010 adjustment.