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."
Committee Takes Action
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."
Legislation: Status Report
H-305: Amends Chapt. 306, Acts of 1996 (disability law). Study.
H-306: Provides for indemnification protection for disability retirees. Study.
H-319: So-called "Needham bill", allows retirement system to forgive pension errors. House Ways & Means.
H-350: Minimum $10,000 pension for municipal retirees with 25 years or more of service. Reported favorably from Public Service.
H-351: $10,000 basic life insurance for state retirees and employees. Reported favorably by Public Service.
H-352: Right to remarry, redrafted by Public Service as S-1815. Sen. Ways & Means.
S-1273: Creates a study commission of Group 1 retirement benefits, redrafted by Public Service as S-1804. Sen. Rules Committee.
S-1281: Noncontributory retiree option C pop-up. Sen. Ways & Means.
S-1283: Health insurance reinstatement. Sen. Ways & Means.
S-1284: Study of retiree dental insurance. Held by Public Service.
S-1285: Allows municipal dental coverage to be offered. Sen.Ways and Means.
S-1286: Increases minimum pension for survivors of active employees who die of nonwork related causes. Sen. Ways & Means.
S-1287: Raises the COLA base from the current $12,000 to $16,000. Study.
S-1288: Allows for an annual COLA of up to 3%. Senate Ways and Means.
S-1588: Exempts noncontributory veterans pensions from state taxes. Sen. Ways & Means.