Members will recall that the session began last January, with a new governor about to take office and a $3 billion dollar deficit looming on the horizon. Complicating matters further was the continued loss of pension money in a struggling stock market, which had just posted its third consecutive year of negative returns.

Throughout the FY04 budget process last spring, the Association was forced to beat back numerous attempts to slash retiree health insurance plans and divert pension funding to other government programs. Despite state retirees losing their Part B Medicare reimbursement, our legislative team was able to fend off the attacks on our members' benefits.

"This past year was one of the toughest I have ever seen. For the state to have been $3 billion in the red was once unthinkable," explained Association Legislative Chairman Bill Hill. "Thankfully, we weathered the storm and the clouds are now beginning to part. If the economy continues to improve, so will our chances of advancing our bills."

As we reported in the article on the COLA base (see pg. 1), the Joint Committee on Public Service recently completed a year's worth of public hearings on nearly 1,000 bills. Chaired by Representative Robert Koczera (D-New Bedford) and Senator David Magnani (D-Framingham), the Committee plays a central role in all public pension and health insurance legislation.

While it's traditional that the House Chair and staff take the lead in analyzing and drafting legislation to be acted upon, they work in tandem with the Senate Chair and staff. From our perspective, this first year of the 2003-2004 Session has not been an exception to that general rule of thumb.

"If anyone thought that the Public Service Committee would start off slow, because Rep. Koczera and Sen. Magnani were new to the Committee, they should think again," said Association Legislative Liaison Shawn Duhamel. "Both have proven to be quick studies and have an excellent grasp of the issues. They're definitely not afraid to take a stand.

"Despite the dire fiscal condition of the state, the Committee has chosen to advance several of our bills. While we still have a long process ahead of us, this is a very important step along the way."