Tennessee SJR 77: Memorials, Retirement - Jill Bachus -

Bill Text

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<BillNo> <Sponsor> 
 
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 77  
By  Watson 
 
 
A RESOLUTION to recognize and commend Jill Bachus for her 
honorable and astute service to the people of 
Tennessee. 
 WHEREAS, it is fitting that the members of this General Assembly should pause to 
specially recognize those estimable public servants who have dedicated themselves to 
improving the quality of life for their fellow citizens; and 
 WHEREAS, Jill Bachus is one such estimable person, who has served the good people 
of this State with distinction and the greatest integrity; and 
 WHEREAS, through her thirty-seven years of exemplary tenure with the Tennessee 
Treasury Department, Mrs. Bachus distinguished herself as a public-spirited citizen of the 
highest order and as an exceptional asset to the State of Tennessee; and 
 WHEREAS, Jill Bachus has astutely served in numerous leadership roles within the 
Treasury Department, including as Director of the Tennessee Baccalaureate Education System, 
in which capacity she was instrumental in molding Tennessee's first 529 college savings 
program; and 
 WHEREAS, after successfully launching the program, Mrs. Bachus was called upon to 
assume the role of Director of the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System, in which 
position she was responsible for managing over 350,000 active and retired members enrolled in 
the system, which pays out in excess of $2 billion a year in benefits; her leadership as Director 
ultimately helped lead TCRS to where it is today: the fourth best funded state public pension 
plan in the nation; and 
 WHEREAS, during her tenure as Director, she was a key part of the leadership team for 
two major TCRS initiatives—the establishment of the Hybrid Pension Plan for State Employees 
and Teachers and the implementation of the Concord web-based administration system.  The  

 
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Hybrid Retirement Plan allows the State as an employer to improve the predictability of its costs 
while providing career employees with sufficient and substantial retirement benefits; and 
 WHEREAS, more recently, Jill Bachus has served as the Assistant Treasurer for 
Financial Strategies and Analysis, overseeing the actuarial functions for various Tennessee 
Consolidated Retirement System matters, including legislative studies related to pensions, 
pension policy concerns, and the funding of public defined benefit pension plans in Tennessee; 
and 
 WHEREAS, Mrs. Bachus has also lent her time and tremendous talents to a number of 
professional organizations, including service on the Association of Government Accountants 
Executive Committee and as President of the National Council on Teacher Retirement, which 
has combined assets of more than $2 trillion in trust funds and serves sixty-eight state, 
territorial, and local pension systems, representing more than nineteen million active and retired 
teachers, non-teaching personnel, and other public employees; and 
 WHEREAS, Jill Bachus is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Government 
Financial Manager; she received her bachelor's and master's degrees in business 
administration from Middle Tennessee State University and is a graduate of the Tennessee 
Government Executive Institute; and 
 WHEREAS, Mrs. Bachus's remarkable success as a public servant and civic leader is 
directly attributable to her reliance on the time-honored values of hard work and common sense 
and her uncommon ability to work well with people from all walks of life; and 
 WHEREAS, her many accomplishments aside, Jill Bachus is most grateful and 
appreciative of the love and support she shares with her husband, Steve, and her much-adored 
children, Jennifer and Erin; and 
 WHEREAS, Mrs. Bachus is a public servant of the highest caliber, and her retirement 
from State government will create a void that will not be easily filled; her considerable talents 
and presence will be sorely missed by not only the Treasury Department, but all departments of 
State government and the good people of Tennessee; and 
 WHEREAS, through her exemplary tenure, Jill Bachus demonstrated the utmost 
professionalism, ability, and integrity, winning the sincere respect and admiration of her 
colleagues and the public alike, and she should be specially recognized, now, therefore, 

 
 
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 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH GENERAL 
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
CONCURRING, that we honor Jill Bachus for her meritorious service, commend her for her 
countless contributions and many good works in service to the people of this State, and extend 
to her our best wishes for a happy and fulfilling retirement. 
 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that an appropriate copy of this resolution be prepared 
for presentation with this final clause omitted from such copy.