Gov. Bob Ferguson (D-WA) signed E2SHB 2034 on April 1, and the date suited the occasion. The law terminates the Law Enforcement Officers’ and Firefighters’ Retirement System Plan 1, creates a successor plan on paper, then sweeps nearly $3.9 billion in surplus out of a plan that was 160% funded, including $569 million directly to the Climate Commitment Account. Washington faced a $2 billion budget shortfall, found a pension sitting flush, and reached for it. Every yes vote was a Democrat.

LEOFF 1 closed to new members in 1977. Contributions were suspended around 2000 after the plan reached full funding. The surplus didn’t come from over-contribution or an accounting error. It grew because the Washington State Investment Board compounded returns inside a closed trust for 25 years without new money entering the system. RCW 41.26.040(3) states that all funds in the LEOFF account “shall remain in that fund for the purpose of paying the obligations of the fund.”