Now in the second year of the 2005-2006 Legislative Session, lawmakers are scrambling to address several pressing issues during the remaining months. It must be pointed out that while the session ends on the first Tuesday in January, there are no roll calls, after July 30, thus no controversial issues can be taken up.

A number of bills of great interest to members remain active before various Beacon Hill committees.

One significant bill that appears on the move is S2292, an act increasing the minimum pension to $15,000 for any retiree with at least twenty-five years of creditable service. Currently, a $10,000 minimum pension exists for retired state employees and teachers. The bill, filed by Kingston Rep. Tom O'Brien, which is pending before the Senate Ways and Means Committee, not only raises the minimum to $15,000, but also creates a local option for law to be adopted.

Survivors of disability retirees will be pleased that H292, filed by House Republican Leader Brad Jones (North Reading), is now pending before the House Ways and Means Committee. The bill increases the minimum pension for disability survivors from $6,000 to $8,000 a year.

Another bill, S1567, would allow survivors, who lost their pension upon remarriage, to regain their benefit. The bill, filed by Senator Michael Morrissey (D-Quincy), is also pending before Senate Ways and Means.

"We have so many bills that we would love to see passed into law. All of them help our public retirees and are greatly needed. However, I think our members realize that not everything is going to pass at once," said Association Legislative Liaison Shawn Duhamel. "That does not mean we are going to give up or turn our backs. Passing legislation is a dogfight each step of the way. As frustrating is it gets, we will be back year in and year out fighting for these benefits."

Members, interested in specific bills not listed in this article, should note that the majority of retirement-related legislation remains under the review of the Public Service Committee.