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Group meets Tuesday to work toward solving Kentucky's pension crisis

The bipartisan group is tasked with working on what is arguably the toughest problem in Frankfort.

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Two Louisville lawmakers are optimistic with the start of a special work group tackling the Kentucky pension crisis.

They are both serving on the new committee that formed on Friday and met for the first time Tuesday morning.

This bi-partisan group sat down and got to work on what is arguably the toughest task in Frankfort, solving one of the nation's worst-funded pension situations.

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Two of those playing key roles are Republican Representative Jerry Miller from the 36th District (which includes parts of Jefferson and Oldham counties) and Senate Minority Leader Democrat Morgan McGarvey.

Both expressed optimism that this group will work together to first agree upon just how bad the situation is, then develop ways to solve it.

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The State Supreme Court overturned legislation passed last year. Last month, Governor Matt Bevin called for a special session that ended without lawmakers reaching an agreement

Now, Senators and Representatives are coming together unlike before on the issue. 

"We still have a problem," Rep. Miller said. "We still have 43 billion dollars of unfunded liability that we have to address."

Tuesday's meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. in the Capitol Annex. The group is scheduled to meet each Tuesday and Thursday through February 15, but if they don't get the job done, the co-chairs can extend their efforts until December 1.

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"We have a legal and moral obligation to honor the promises made to those currently in the system," said Senator McGarvey.

That opens the door to what those on both sides suggest is a real possibility: That they can get some of the work done during this legislative session and then come back for a special session sometime this spring or summer.

►Contact reporter Chris Williams at cwilliams@whas11.com. Follow him on Twitter (@chriswnews) and Facebook. 

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