The "Good" Jane included a new three-percent pension COLA for eligible members of state and teachers' retirement systems. Swift could have submitted a budget with a 2.6% CPI (consumer price index) COLA, as allowed by law, but instead opted to utilize our Association's 1999 legislation (Ch. 127) which allows for a 3% COLA to be paid, despite the lower CPI.

While we are optimistic that the House and Senate will include the full 3% COLA in their versions of the budget, there is little chance that there will be a change in the $12,000 COLA base prior to July. Therefore, the maximum COLA will again be $360.

News of Swift's proposed funding schedule change and reduced pension appropriation received a cold reception amongst legislative leaders. The move has been characterized as a "gimmick" and was strongly criticized as "short-sighted" by the Mass Taxpayers Foundation.

In early January she had proposed retroactively reducing the FY'02 pension appropriation. This move was in reaction to the ever-shrinking state tax revenues.

What Swift is attempting to pull off in the FY'03 budget is almost a carbon copy of her brazen last minute attempt to raid the pension fund last November.

Shortly after going to print with our January publication of the Voice in early December, Acting Governor Swift boldly vetoed $134 million from the FY'02 state/teacher pension appropriation. Swift attempted to justify this cut by refinancing the state and teachers pension funding schedule from the current year of 2018 to year 2028.

This unprecedented move by the Swift Administration was a departure from fifteen years of bipartisan cooperation in reducing the Commonwealth's multi-billion dollar unfunded pension liability.

Both Republican Governors Bill Weld and Paul Cellucci made a concerted effort to rapidly pay-off the state's pension debt.

After the events of September 11 and the rapid economic downturn that followed, the Acting Governor proposed reducing the state's pension appropriation in order to free-up $134 million to fund several social service programs that had been cut in the FY'02 Budget.

House Speaker Thomas Finneran (D-Mattapan), who is a staunch advocate of full pension funding, quickly referred to the Governor's plan as "misguided" and set out to educate the House members as to the pitfalls of reducing the appropriation. Senate President Thomas Birmingham and the Democratic leadership of both the Senate and the House openly opposed the cut.

"After getting over our initial shock as to what the Governor had done, we went to work gathering support in the House and Senate to override the veto and restore the $134 million," said Association President Ralph White. "We received tremendous support from the Legislature on this issue. However, I must single out (Speaker) Tom Finneran. He understands this issue and has gone out of his way to support our Association in protecting the funds. Without his support, I fear the end result may have been different."

Following the veto by Swift on Saturday December 3, the Association immediately went to work with the House and Senate Leadership, as well as state Treasurer Shannon O'Brien. Information had to be gathered to counter the arguments put forth by Swift that her proposal was sound fiscal policy.

Ironically, the Association had kept records dating back to 1997, when then Governor Bill Weld and then Secretary of Administration and Finance Charles Baker proposed reducing the state pension funding schedule from 2028 to 2018. This was proposed in order to increase state contributions into the system, which was to save billions in taxpayer money over the life of the schedule.

After being passed by the Legislature as part of the FY'98 budget, Weld boasted that the new schedule would "reduce the state's long-term pension appropriations by twenty billion dollars." When Swift proposed extending the schedule back to 2028, Treasurer O'Brien valuated the additional cost and determined that the state would lose $8 billion over the life of the schedule.

Late in the afternoon on December 5, after several days of lobbying by Association officers, the question came before the House as to let the Governor's veto of line item 0612-1010 (pension line item) stand or be overridden. After more than two and a half hours of debate (see related article page 9) the House overwhelming overrode the veto 120-33.

Earlier in the day, when our Association's officers were busy lining up votes in the House, lobbyists from the Mass Teachers Association (MTA) came to our assistance. After sending a letter to all 200 legislators urging them to support the override, MTA lobbyists Jack Flannagan, Joanne Fitzgerald, and Julia Johnson worked side-by-side with our Association's legislative team.

"The legislative team from the MTA really came through for us that day," recalls White. "When we were tied up in the House, the MTA was over on the Senate side lining up votes. They did not forget that teachers and higher education professors depend on that pension fund. It was a very important issue to both our organizations and our teamwork really paid off."

"Our gratitude must be extended to Rep. Brian Dempsey and Senator Brian Joyce. Both were our go-to men in their respective branches and really did a great job on behalf of our members," said Association Legislative Liaison Shawn Duhamel.

Within an hour of passing the House, Senate President Birmingham brought the question on the override before the Senate. After another lengthy and spirited debate, the Senate overrode the Governor's veto 34-5.

Among those voting to override the veto was State Senator Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth), who has the distinction of being the only Republican legislator to buck the Governor on this issue.