JANUARY 2001 - Chaired by William Hill, the Association's Legislative Committee has been working with members of the General Court to craft a legislative program for the 2001-2002 session. The following are summaries of each of the fifteen bills that the Association has filed, with the lead sponsors, for the coming session.

House Bill*, Sponsors: Rep. Michael Ruane and Sen. Brian Joyce. (Please see related COLA Base article on p. 3.) This bill, containing two separate sections, increases the maximum base to which the COLA is applied (currently $12,000). For the State and Teachers systems, the new base would be a maximum of $20,000. Local retirement boards will be allowed to establish their own base above $12,000, subject to local legislative approval.

House Bill*, Sponsors: Rep. Michael Ruane and Sen. Brian Joyce. This bill mirrors legislation passed by the state in 1998 that created a minimum $10,000 pension for state and teacher retirees, who have at least 25 years of creditable service. It allows counties, regions, cities, towns and other political subdivisions to increase the pensions of their retirees, with 25 or more years, to $10,000. It is subject to local acceptance.

House Bill*, Sponsors: Rep. Michael Ruane and Sen. Brian Joyce. Currently, survivors of active employees who die of a non-work related cause prior to retirement (known as Option (d) survivors), receive a minimum $3,000 pension. This bill increases it to $6,000. The increase would be automatic for state/teachers systems, and subject to local acceptance for local systems.

House Bill*, Sponsors: Rep. Michael Ruane and Sen. Brian Joyce. Widows of disability retirees, who die of a cause other than their disability (known as Section 101 widows), receive a minimum pension of $6,000. This bill seeks to increase that amount to an annual $8,000. Again, the increase would be automatic for state and teacher widows and local option for the local retirement systems.

House Bill*, Sponsors: Rep. Michael Ruane and Sen. Brian Joyce. Under Chapter 159 (FY 2001 State Budget) survivors are allowed to remarry and maintain their pension benefit as have Option C survivors. However, the new law did not contain language addressing a retroactive application for those survivors who had already lost their pension due to remarriage.

Senate Bill*, Sponsors: Sen. Richard Moore and Sen. Brian Joyce. The state's group insurance law (Chapter 32A) currently establishes the basic insurance benefit at $5,000. Municipalities and other subdivisions can set the basic life insurance at any amount (Chapter 32B), but in most cases have set the amount at $5,000 like the state. This bill establishes the basic life insurance under the state insurance plan at $10,000. As earlier stated, no change in the state law is required to allow cities and towns to offer $10,000 in basic life insurance.

Senate Bill*, Sponsors: Sen. Richard Moore and Sen. Brian Joyce. Despite the fact that survivors can now maintain their pension benefit upon remarriage, survivors, including Option C survivors, still lose their subsidized health coverage if they remarry. Under this provision, survivors will be allowed to maintain their health insurance even if they remarry.

Senate Bill*, Sponsors: Sen. Richard Moore and Sen. Brian Joyce. Under the local group health insurance law, municipalities can offer to their employees dental, vision care or long term disability insurance (Section 15, Ch. 32B). Unlike the group health and life insurance, the dental, vision or disability can be offered with the employee paying the full group premium, even if he is only paying part of the health or life insurance (i.e., 50% or 25%). This bill allows municipalities to also offer dental, vision or disability insurance to their retirees at the full or partial premium cost.

Senate Bill*, Sponsors: Sen. Richard Moore and Sen. Brian Joyce. Under the recently adopted three-tier copayment system in use by the GIC, members are forced to pay expensive copayments for certain drugs that are not generic nor considered a preferred brand. This bill mirrors the appeals process under the senior pharmacy plan and the state's MassHealth Plan. Members would be granted an appeals process to demonstrate the medical necessity in taking certain drugs. If necessity were established, the copayment would be granted at the lower (preferred) price.

Senate Bill*, Sponsors: Sen. Richard Moore and Sen. Brian Joyce. State law requires that the state, municipalities and other subdivisions allow a retiree, to request reinstatement in the health insurance plan. While the national trend is towards the elimination of pre-existing conditions, the state currently requires the applicant for reinstatement to pass the "more demanding" medical exam for life insurance. At the local level, the courts have cited the state requirement as a standard for municipalities. This bill eliminates the requirement that a retiree (or employee) pass the life insurance medical exam ("medical proof of insurability") in order to be eligible only for the state or local health insurance plans (Sec 10, Ch 32A; Sec 9, Ch 32B respectively).

House Bill*, Sponsors: Rep. Michael Ruane and Sen. Brian Joyce. Superannuation retirees who are veterans currently receive a bonus of $15 for each year of creditable service, up to an annual maximum of $300. Under this bill, disability retirees, who are veterans, would be afforded the same benefit.

House Bill*, Sponsors: Rep. Michael Ruane and Sen. Brian Joyce. Currently "contributory" retirees, who select an Option C (reduced) pension in order to leave a survivor's pension upon death, are entitled to receive their full pensions if their beneficiary predeceases them ("Pop-up").

When the "Pop-Up" was originally instituted in January 1988, only those who retired after that date were given this benefit, including non-contribs. In the 1999 Budget, the "Pop-Up" was granted to retirees, who retired before January 1988. Because of a technical oversight, the non-contribs, who retired before January 1988, were not granted the "Pop-Up."

SB 1281, sponsored by the Association in the 1999-2000 session, extends the "Pop-Up" to non-contrib veterans. At press time, SB 1281 had been passed by the Senate and is in House Ways and Means. While the Association is optimistic of passage before year's end, this bill mirrors SB 1281, if it does not become law.

House Bill*, Sponsors: Rep. Michael Ruane and Sen. Brian Joyce. Unlike the pensions of an overwhelming majority of retirees (contributory retirees), the pensions of non-contribs are subject to state income tax. This bill would extend the tax-exempt status, now accorded the pensions of contributory retirees, to non -contribs.

Editor's Note: Public retirees, who are veterans with 30 years of public service and worked before 7/1/39, are entitled to a pension and withdrawal of their pension contributions - commonly referred to as non-contribs.

House Bill*, Sponsor: Rep. Michael Ruane. This bill addresses five issues affecting disability retirees. First, disability retirees, out on disability for more than 10 years, will not be subject to re-examination unless they request such. Second, if a disability retiree is reinstated and his new job pays less than he was receiving when he retired, the new public employer will make up the difference. Third, the old formula (pre Nov.'96), to calculate whether a disability retiree has exceeded the amount of outside earnings that he is legally allowed to make, is re-established in the disability law. Fourth, what is outside earned income for a disability retiree is defined in order to resolve the ongoing controversy on this issue. Fifth, it allows a disability retiree, ordered back to work, to appeal that decision.

House Bill*, Sponsor: Rep. Michael Ruane. Disabled police and fire retirees in cities and towns, that have accepted Section 100B of Chapter 41, submit their disability-related medical bills to their municipality for payment (indemnification).

Association members have complained of unusually long delays in payment. This bill requires that a Sec. 100B community act on a medical bill within 60 days of receiving satisfactory documentation and if a court later orders payment, the municipality will be responsible for the retiree's legal costs.