A bill that will fix the Dallas Police and Fire Department Pension crisis has been approved by the State House and is on the way to Governor Greg Abbott’s desk.

The bill spearheaded by State Representative Dan Flynn and State Senator Royce West was passed by the House unanimously on Thursday. It will now await the governor's signature.

The pension crisis was blamed on overly benefits, investments that failed to produce the sufficient returns and deception about the true value of fund assets.

There are some of the differences in the current pension plan and the new bill.

1. The bill will raise the retiring age to 58 (previously 50 or 55 depending on start date).

2. Officers who are going to retire would receive 90%  of their computation pay under the new plan compared to 96 percent currently.

3. No interest on Deferred Retirement Option Plan, which allows officers to continue working while claiming retired status. Under current plan, those who stayed on were able to have five to six percent interest in their retirement funds.

4. The compromise also increases the numbers on the pension board to six appointed by the mayor and council, one police representative, one fire representative and three appointed by nominations committee. It also requires a two-thirds vote on major decisions from the board.

Taxpayers will also have to pay more to fix the system, but the amount for contribution is not known yet.

Due to the crisis, Dallas lost hundreds of officers and saw other agencies recruiting Dallas officers away from the department.

When the deal was reached, Mayor Mike Rawlings said that the city needs to look at restoring its confidence.

"We've got to attract and retain our police and fire in order for us to continue the growth. Dallas is going to grow in the next 20 years. We are going to be a great city, but it won't be that way if we don't solve this issue," Rawlings said.

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