Sen. Knopp honors pledge not to take PERS

Sen. Tim Knopp

Pushes for Further Reforms to PERS System

Salem, OR – Senator Tim Knopp took the oath of office as the State Senator for District 27 (R-Bend/Redmond/Sunriver/Tumalo) on January 14^th. Along with being sworn in, he upheld a campaign promise not to join the state retirement program known as the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS).

“It is very important to me to honor the promises that I’ve made,” Sen. Knopp states. “If we don’t fix PERS now there will be fewer firefighters protecting our communities, fewer police officers on the streets, and fewer teachers in the classroom.”

“The upcoming session holds a tremendous opportunity for the Legislature to enact meaningful reform. Already, Governor Kitzhaber has led by taking steps against the paralysis in the Legislature on this issue. But this isn’t enough.  In order to maintain the proper commitment to PERS Reforms, elected officials must be objective and free of personal conflicts. I encourage them to join me in saying no to PERS.”

Knopp was elected to his first term in the Oregon State Senate in November 2012. He represents the communities of Bend, Redmond, Sunriver, and Tumalo. Knopp was previously in the Legislature from 1999 to 2005 for three terms, including one as Oregon House Majority Leader, where he led the PERS Reforms of 2003 that saved taxpayers billions.

Senator Knopp was appointed to the Education and Workforce Development and Health Care and Human Services committees for the 2013 Legislative Session.  He serves in the capacity of Vice-Chair for the Education and Workforce Development committee.