Tuesday, Wednesday to be big for Jacksonville pension-tax bill

Lenny Curry sells the discretionary sales surtax bill to Jax City Council, ahead of its resolution of support.

Tuesday and Wednesday will be big days for the Discretionary Sales Surtax bill (CS/CS/SB 1652) that Jacksonville wants passed to address its unfunded pension liability.

On Tuesday, the House is scheduled to consider the bill on the House floor.

Then, on Wednesday, the Senate Rules Committee it to consider the bill. That will be the final committee to consider the bill in the upper chamber.

Mayor Lenny Curry made his pitch to many legislative members in recent weeks, including several last week.

The worry on the city side has been with potential House amendments to the bill, and something to watch is how the bill changes Tuesday.

The initiative is predicated on a financial analysis contracted by the city of Jacksonville, which would allow the diversion of the current half penny sales tax from the Better Jacksonville Plan infrastructure tax, once it sunsets, and applying that revenue stream to the current unfunded liability in the city’s defined benefit pension plan.