Several meetings between House Speaker Thomas Finneran, Treasurer Shannon O’Brien and House Ways and Means Chairman John Rogers resulted in Governor Paul Cellucci’s FY2002 budget’s pension fund appropriation of $934 million being increased to $986 million.

“The Governor’s appropriation was well short of meeting the state’s long-range funding schedule,” said O’Brien. “Speaker Finneran has taken a deep personal interest in the long-term stability of our pension system. His input was crucial...”

We were later informed by the Cellucci-Swift administration that the $934 million in the Governor’s budget was not a firm figure but was based on an option of three varying funding schedules, and that the administration wants to work “cooperatively” with the Legislature. The Governor’s Office of Administration and Finance said that they were in agreement with a revised appropriation.

The Ways and Means budget, which will be voted on by the House by the end of April, will contain a $986 million pension liability line item. Included in this appropriation is the language which will trigger a new 3% pension COLA for state and teacher retirees beginning this July. The Governor’s budget also included the same COLA language.

After House passage, the budget will then go to the Senate where that branch will offer their version. While there will be some differences in the House and Senate budgets, which will be worked out in a conference committee, we have been assured by Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairman Mark Montigny and Senate President Tom Birmingham that the COLA will remain intact.

Locally, as of April 1, 54 retirement boards had voted to also pay a new 3% COLA this July. Members will recall that it was our Association’s 1997 landmark legislation (Ch. 17) that allows local retirement boards to vote each year on a 3% COLA for their respective retirees and survivors. Prior to Chapter 17, with the state picking up the cost of local COLAs since 1980’s PROP 2 1/2, there had only been three COLAs for state, teacher and local retirees over the previous nine years.

We do anticipate that all local retirement boards will vote for the new COLA prior to this July. Here's a listing of those boards that have voted as of April 1: