The lame-duck session in Lansing has been quacking along at a fast pace.
Yesterday, a Senate committee approved a bill that would end pensions for incoming new teachers in Michigan. The pensions would be put into market-based 401 (k)-style plans.
Senator Goeff Hansen, R-Hart, who represents the 34th District, which includes Muskegon, joined Stateside to talk about it. Hansen was one of the two Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee, along with Mike Nofs, who voted against the effort.
According to Hansen, he was concerned that it was unclear how the new approach to teacher retirement in Michigan would be paid for.
Listen to the full interview above to hear more about why he voted against it, how much a bill could help education funding in the long-term and if this could make it hard for the state to attract new teachers.
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