Retiree Workforce Bill Clears Alabama Legislature
HB138 lets certain retirees return as bus drivers, police, and ADAs without losing pensions, now heads to the Governor
The Alabama Legislature on Thursday gave final approval to a measure aimed at easing workforce shortages in school transportation and public safety. House Bill 138 (HB138), sponsored by Representative Kenneth Paschal (R-Pelham), and carried in the Senate by Senator Chris Elliott (R-Josephine), now heads to Governor Kay Ivey for her consideration.
The House voted to concur with Senate changes, sending the bill to the Governor’s desk after weeks of debate over how to address staffing gaps in key public service roles.
HB138 merges two separate proposals — Paschal’s legislation focused on school bus driver shortages and Elliott’s bill addressing workforce gaps in public safety and prosecution roles. The combined measure allows certain retirees to return to work in critical positions while continuing to receive retirement benefits under the rules of the state’s public pension system.
Originally designed to help school systems recruit bus drivers, the bill allows retirees from the Employees’ Retirement System and Teachers’ Retirement System to return as full-time drivers while continuing to draw retirement benefits, provided they stay within existing earnings limits and meet other statutory requirements. School districts across Alabama have reported delayed routes and longer ride times for students due to driver shortages.
Senate amendments broadened the bill’s reach to include a range of public safety and legal positions. Eligible retirees may now serve as school resource officers, municipal and state police officers, sheriff’s deputies, correctional officers, police officers at state colleges and universities, and assistant district attorneys.
“Getting children safely to school, returning them home again, and keeping our communities safe from crime are core government responsibilities,” Paschal said. “HB138 provides these critical services while providing experienced retirees a practical way to step back into service where they’re needed most.”
“Senator Elliott and I worked closely to combine our efforts into one effective bill, and I am grateful for his partnership and for the many stakeholders who supported this effort,” he added.
Supporters say the legislation offers a practical way to tap the experience of retired public servants while maintaining safeguards for the retirement system.
“A lot of them would love to still continue to work, but it doesn’t make financial sense to do so, so what this allows them to do is to do that,” Elliott said. “It allows them to return to work and and to continue to draw their retirement, continue to serve and use that investment we’ve made in them, through their certification, through their training, to continue to derive value from that.”
Under the bill’s framework, retirees returning to work must meet certification and qualification standards and will not accrue additional retirement benefits while reemployed. Existing earnings caps remain in place, though some public safety roles may allow compensation up to $52,000 annually under current law.
The legislation also includes a sunset provision set for Dec. 31, 2032, giving lawmakers an opportunity to review the policy’s effectiveness in addressing workforce shortages.
With final legislative approval complete, HB138 now awaits the Governor’s signature.
The full text of HB138 as enrolled is available at THIS LINK.
