The Mississippi Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would change how the state handles employees who retire and then return to work in state government as part-time or contract workers.

Currently, neither those employees nor the agencies that hire them contribute to the Public Employees Retirement System.

The bill would require agencies to make a contribution to the PERS fund for those employees, even though the contract and part-time workers can't accrue more time toward retirement.

Senate Finance Chairman Dean Kirby says the change would prevent "double-dipping." He says many state employees retire and then soon return to the agency as contract workers.

The bill goes back to the House for more work.