The Republican-controlled legislature is racing to send Gov. Wolf a long-sought bill by week’s end that would overhaul retirement benefits in Pennsylvania’s two debt-riddled public pension plans. The Senate approved the bill Monday in a 40-9 vote, and the House is expected to vote by Thursday on the measure, which seeks to shift some, if not all, benefits for future state and public schools employees into 401(k)-style plans. The goal is to create pension plans that cost less state money and do not hold taxpayers entirely liable for backing them, regardless of how the markets perform.  A spokesman for House GOP legislative leaders said there are enough votes in the chamber to pass it. Wolf, a Democrat, has said he supports the legislation.  On the surface, it looks like a deal, but no one is calling it done.  Less than two years ago, a pension-reform effort imploded at the eleventh hour, prolonging the budget impasse in Wolf’s first year in office.

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Source: Inquirer by Angela Couloumbis, Harrisburg Bureau @AngelasInk |  acouloumbis@phillynews.com Updated: JUNE 5, 2017 — 6:40 PM EDT.