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Key Retirement Committee Changes Leaders PDF Print E-mail
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.

Those winds of change, stirred up first by Senate President Thomas Birmingham in January and followed by House Speaker Thomas Finneran in February, have ushered in two new chairmen for the Joint Committee On Public Service. As members are well aware, it is the Public Service Committee which is the crucial committee for retirement legislation.

In mid-January, Birmingham announced that second term Senator Brian Joyce (D-Milton) would take the place of Senator Richard Moore (D-Uxbridge) as Senate chairman of Public Service. Moore was then assigned to chair the Health Care Committee.
By the time House Democrats caucused on February 2, Speaker Finneran had political pundits buzzing with speculation over his committee picks. In a surprise move, Finneran swapped the House chairman of Public Service, Rep. Tim Toomey, Jr. (D-Cambridge) with the chairman of Public Safety, Rep. Paul Casey (D-Winchester).

'No Leadership Gap': White

While the new leadership of the three committees - Public Service, Health Care and Public Safety - are of equal priority to the President and Speaker, it is the Public Service Committee which must pass muster on most of our bills.
"We will miss Dick Moore and Tim Toomey's leadership on Public Service," said Association President Ralph White. "I am especially grateful for the work they did on the Special COLA Commission in creating and sponsoring the legislation which resulted in the new COLA law (Chapter 17).

"These moves were lateral. In no case was a committee chairman demoted. Dick Moore is already deeply involved in setting up a long-term health care insurance plan for retired public employees. Tim will now deal with legislation involving law enforcement personnel who are our future members."

White and the Association's legislative team are excited at the prospects of working with two new chairmen. Both Rep. Paul Casey and Senator Brian Joyce have a proven track record of supporting retiree issues.

"We've worked with Brian Joyce and Paul Casey in the past. Both recognize that our Association has a reputation of taking the high road in seeking to improve pension benefits for our members," adds White. "Each is a highly competent individual backed by top- notch staff members. There will be no leadership gap on the Public Service Committee, of that I am certain."

Vice Chairmen To Return

In addition to the chairmen, each committee is also assigned vice chairmen. Amid the many committee changes, the Public Service Committee was fortunate to retain its vice chairmen from the previous session. Senator Robert Havern (D-Arlington) and Rep. Thomas McGee (D-Lynn) will both return as the Committee's vice chairmen.

Both Havern and McGee have served on the Committee for several years. Their experience should prove helpful to the new chairmen as they become acclimated to the complex retirement issues they are charged with overseeing.

Havern also serves as the chairman of the Joint Committee on Transportation. The Committee is charged with the daunting task of overseeing the state's vast road and highway systems, along with Boston's "Big Dig" project.

During the last session, McGee headed up the Special Commission on Teacher Retirement, which was charged with investigating alternative retirement proposals for the state's teachers. The Commission held hearings across the state on the so-called "Rule-of-90" teacher retirement initiative.

Besides the chairmen, thirteen other legislators serve on the seventeen member committee. They include Senators Stephen Lynch (D-South Boston), Steven Panagiotakos (D-Lowell), Susan Fargo (D-Lincoln), and Joanne Sprague (R-Walpole). The House has appointed Reps. Emanuel Serra (D-East Boston), Paul Demakis (D-Back Bay), Rachel Kaprielian (D-Watertown), Gale Candaras (D-Wilbraham), Barry Finegold (D-Andover), Brian Golden (D-Brighton), David Torrisi (D-Andover), Paul Frost (R-Auburn), and Nancy Caffyn (R-Mashpee) to serve on the Committee

"We are fortunate to have both Public Service vice chairmen returning to the Committee. Bob Havern and Tom McGee bring a wealth of institutional memory with them," said Association Legislative Liaison Shawn Duhamel. "Several of the Committee members have previously served on Public Service and are very familiar with our issues. This should really help to get the Committee off to a good start."
 
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