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."

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."