Gov. Haley Barbour has signed a bill that requires Mississippi’s public employees to pay more toward their own retirement.

“Today I signed House Bill 1,” Barbour said in a statement Friday evening, “which increases the contribution level paid by state, city, county and school district employees into the Public Employees Retirement System. This legislation, which raises the employees’ contributions from 7.25 percent to 9 percent, is the first increase in employee contributions since 1991.”

The pension bill made it through the Legislature at the end of April, and was forwarded to the governor.

“Had this bill not been approved,” Barbour said, “we would have been forced to shift $70 million from state agency budgets to shore up the retirement system, which would have undoubtedly resulted in significant layoffs of other employees.”