March 31, 2017 - Executive Director Update: Week 12 of the General Assembly

Week 12 of the 91st General Assembly indicates the session is winding down.  ATRS' 20 bill legislative package currently has fifteen (15) bills which are now law and five (5) additional bills have passed both chambers and are awaiting action by the Governor.  The ATRS 20 bill package appears to be in good shape and accomplished the goals of the ATRS Board on behalf of members.  As with any legislation package of this size, several bills were amended to address negotiations and compromise.

An additional executive director update will be available in the next week to ten days that will focus on the legislative package as a whole and the impact of each bill in particular.  The only attachment for this week is the Bill Summary.  In addition to the 20 bill package, ATRS worked to either amend or assist in the passage of other bills that should benefit ATRS and its members.

ATRS is grateful for the help and assistance in the passage of the ATRS legislative package.  The upcoming executive director update will highlight some of the champions for ATRS members in this session.

Remember the ATRS website allows members to have direct access to specific member account information.  Now approximately 9,900 members have direct account access to individualized account information.  Here is the link to the instructions to sign up: https://www.artrs.gov/welcome.

You can also sign up to obtain these executive director updates through your private email address.  Updates are made throughout the year such as at retirement season and other times when information needs to be shared.  Now, over 14,600 people have signed up to receive this executive director update by direct email delivery.  You can find the link to sign up for email delivery to these updates here: https://www.artrs.gov/login.  It is always a great pleasure for ATRS staff to learn of more ways to provide information to ATRS members, employers, beneficiaries, government officials, and the public.  The ATRS Board is committed to providing a system that is member friendly and transparent. 

You can also get helpful ATRS information on the ATRS Facebook page under the name of Arkansas Teacher Retirement System.  Over 3,300 Facebook users get updates via the ATRS Facebook page.  Go to the Facebook page and "like" ATRS to get daily updates.  I try to go to the Facebook page every day to post information and answer member questions about ATRS.  In addition, if you use Twitter, you can join over 800 others by following events at ATRS and issues of interest on the ATRS Twitter page.  Remember that ATRS is here to serve you! If you have questions, email me or call.

Respectfully,

George Hopkins

(501) 682-1820 Office
(501) 318-5998 Cell
georgeh@artrs.gov

Click on the following document for more information:

1. Bill Summary

 

March 24, 2017 - Executive Director Update: Week 11 of the General Assembly

Week 11 was a week of activity on many fronts for ATRS and now, we are in the final stretch of the legislative session. Legislators are working very hard and diligently to complete the session within the next 1-2 weeks. Of ATRS' 20 bill legislative package, currently fourteen (14) bills are now law, two additional (2) bills have passed both chambers and are on the Governor's desk, three (3) more bills have passed one chamber and are on the calendar of the second chamber, and one final (1) bill remains in the Retirement Committee. This update has two (2) attachments. The first is the Executive Director Narrative and the second is the Bill Package Summary.

As the session nears an end, ATRS would again like to express appreciation to all the legislators who sponsored legislation or helped on legislation on behalf of ATRS. Retirement legislation is always complex and difficult to sponsor or promote. Many members of the General Assembly made special efforts to help ATRS. For all the time and effort of so many, I am grateful!

Remember the ATRS website allows members to have direct access to specific member account information.  Now approximately 9,900 members have direct account access to individualized account information.  Here is the link to the instructions to sign up: https://www.artrs.gov/welcome.

You can also sign up to obtain these executive director updates through your private email address.  Updates are made throughout the year such as at retirement season and other times when information needs to be shared.  Now, over 14,600 people have signed up to receive this executive director update by direct email delivery.  You can find the link to sign up for email delivery to these updates here: https://www.artrs.gov/login.  It is always a great pleasure for ATRS staff to learn of more ways to provide information to ATRS members, employers, beneficiaries, government officials, and the public.  The ATRS Board is committed to providing a system that is member friendly and transparent. 

You can also get helpful ATRS information on the ATRS Facebook page under the name of Arkansas Teacher Retirement System.  Over 3,300 Facebook users get updates via the ATRS Facebook page.  Go to the Facebook page and "like" ATRS to get daily updates.  I try to go to the Facebook page every day to post information and answer member questions about ATRS.  In addition, if you use Twitter, you can join over 800 others by following events at ATRS and issues of interest on the ATRS Twitter page.  Remember that ATRS is here to serve you! If you have questions, email me or call.

Respectfully,

George Hopkins

(501) 682-1820 Office
(501) 318-5998 Cell
georgeh@artrs.gov

 Click on the following document for more information:

1. Session Update

2. Bill Summary