The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the Legislature's requirement that state employees contribute 3 percent of their pay toward the state pension system, overturning a lower-court decision last year that had held it was unconstitutional.
See the decision and a Tampa Bay Times blog account.
The ruling had been eagerly awaited by state officials, who feared that if they had to give the money back it would knock a $2 billion hole in the budget. State employees, who got no raise to cover the money they lost from their paychecks, had hoped to get it back.
Within minutes of the ruling, e-mails of joy emerged from House Speaker Will Weatherford, Senate President Don Gaetz, and Gov. Rick Scott.
