Legislation

SEPTEMBER 1999 - With
the first quarter of legislative action now complete, our Association's
legislative lobbying team is well poised to hit the halls of the State
House when the General Court reconvenes in September. To date, several
Association bills have progressed through the Committee process.

"So
far so good", says Legislative Chairman Bill Hill in describing the
Association's early legislative success. "We have seventeen months left
to go in this session and I'm confident that we will continue our early
success. However, nothing is ever guaranteed."

Of
the fifteen bills in the Association's package, eleven remain in active
status. The four remaining bills are being studied by the Committee on
Public Service.

A handful of bills
seem to have generated a great deal of interest from a number of
legislators. They are H-319 (pension errors), H-351 (state life
insurance), S-1283 (insurance reinstatement), S-1588 (noncontributory
taxes), and S-1815 (right to remarry).

JULY 1999 - Public Hearing Process Near Complete - As
the Legislature approaches its summer recess at the end of July, the
Association's legislative team can look back at the first six months of
the 1999-2000 session as being a success.

At
the end of the first quarter of action, eleven of the fifteen bills,
now being supported by the Association, have been granted a favorable
report by the Joint Committee on Public Service. Three bills have been
placed in studies and one bill is being held for further consideration
by the Committee.

"We are off to a
great start. Both Brian Joyce (Senate Chairman) and Paul Casey (House
Chairman) have been very receptive to addressing the concerns of
retirees," said Association Legislative Liaison Shawn Duhamel. "With
most of our bills now before the House and Senate Ways and Means
Committees, our job gets even tougher. Not to imply that moving bills
out of Public Service is easy. A case had to be made for each
individual bill before the Committee would act favorably.

"However,
Ways and Means is not only interested in the merits of the proposal.
Their main function is to determine the cost of a bill, along with its
long term financial impact on the state budget. Since many of our bills
cost money, this is a very high hurdle to overcome."

In the May Voice,
we described how the Committee Chairmen and their staffs, despite being
new to the issue of retirement law, had quickly picked up on their new
subject matter. Both Chairmen have led the way in their respective
chambers on issues such as the COLA and early retirement.

This,
along with our lobbying work with Committee staff, has resulted in only
three bills being discharged into a study, rather than being released
favorably,from the Committee. Both H-305 and H-306, relating to
disability pensions, have been placed into a study. H-1287, which
raises the COLA base to $16,000, is also in a study.

One
bill, S-1284, which establishes a special study commission to explore
how to offer affordable retiree dental care is being held by the
Committee while the staff works on the drafting details. Dental
coverage has become a top priority for the Association's lobbying and
health insurance teams. Insurance Coordinator Cheryl Stillman is
leading the effort to find a workable plan for retirees.

"It
is not unusual for bills to be placed in a study while further
information is gathered. Quite frankly, with a new Public Service
staff, I would have expected more of our bills to be placed in a study
while they learned the issues," explained Duhamel. "Thankfully, both
chairmen have people around them who are quick studies and are not shy
about making a decision. Our members have really benefited from their
diligence."

MARCH 1999 - Casey and Joyce To Chair Public Service - The
winds of change blew through the halls of the State House this winter
to begin the 1999-2000 Legislative Session. For State House watchers,
the last two months have been filled with political intrigue as the
Beacon Hill landscape has been set in place for the session.