Texas Public Policy Foundation
901 Congress Ave.

Texas' public employees deserve a secure and sustainable retirement, but are right now at risk of an uncertain future. Promises have been made, but without the funding or structure necessary to keep them. Real, long-lasting solutions are needed to get these systems back-on-track and protect both taxpayers and retirees from a potential crisis.

Join the Texas Public Policy Foundation for a day-long summit filled with panel sessions and a keynote lunch as we discuss ways to keep our pension promises.

AGENDA:
(Subject to change. Please check back regularly for updates.)
Summit is accredited for 4 CLE hours

11:00 am
Panel I: Learning from Others: Pension Reform Efforts from Around the U.S.
An examination of pension reform efforts from around the nation to learn from the example of others.

• Leonard Gilroy, Reason Foundation
• Ted Dabrowski, Illinois Policy Institute
• Marcia Fritz, President and founding board member, California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility
• James Hohman, Mackinac Center for Public Policy
• Moderated by Pete Constant, former San Jose Councilmember and current Executive Director of the Retirement Security Initiative

12:30 pm
Keynote Lunch with The Honorable Chuck Reed, former mayor of San Jose

2:15 pm
Panel II: Are Pension Problems Brewing in the Lone Star State?
An in-depth look into the policy landscape in Texas to determine what problems exist, if any, and the ideal solution(s) to put forward in the next legislative session.

• Representative Jim Murphy
• John Diamond, Rice University Kelly Fellow in Public Finance
• Tim Lee, Texas Retired Teachers Association
• Max Patterson, TEXPERS
• Chris Brown, Controller, City of Houston
• Moderated by Bill Hammond, Chief Executive Officer of the Texas Association of Business

3:45 pm
Panel III: Keeping the Promise: Is it Time to Modernize Texas’ Pension Systems?
An exploration of the efforts to modernize Texas’ state and local retirement systems through transitioning from defined benefit system to a defined contribution model.

• Senator Paul Bettencourt
• Bill King, former Houston mayoral candidate
• Ronnie Jung, Texans for Secure Retirement
• The Honorable Joe Arnall, former member of the Florida House of Representatives
• Keith Brainard, National Association of State Retirement Administrators
• Moderated by James Quintero, TPPF

5:00 pm
Cocktail Reception

For more information on Texas' pension system, please visit the Think Local Liberty website by clicking here: http://thinklocalliberty.com/