NOVEMBER 2005 - House Action Pending - Veterans, who are retired on accidental disability pensions from Massachusetts public service, may finally be recognized for their military service. The hope is that legislation, some fifty-nine years in the making, will pass into law this fall.

S2035, filed by Senator Steven Panagiotakos (D-Lowell) and cosponsored by a host of other Legislators, passed the Senate in July. The bill is now being reviewed by the House Committee on Ways and Means, which is chaired by Representative Bob DeLeo (D-Winthrop).

Once passed, accidental disability retirees, who qualify as veterans, will be entitled to the same bonus that has been paid to superannuation retirees since 1946. Under the bonus, eligible retirees are paid $15 a year for each year of creditable service, up to a maximum of $300 a year (20 years of service). Like superannuation retirees, the bonus will be built into the pensions of disability retirees.

S2035 contains a provision that makes the bonus retroactive to the date of one's retirement. Once passed into law and accepted at the local level (local option for local retirement systems), disability retirees can expect to receive a one-time retroactive payment, in addition to their pension being adjusted going forward.

Last year, Governor Mitt Romney vetoed a similar bill that reached his desk as the formal legislative session came to an end in August. While it is unclear as to the Governor's intentions this time around, the Association is poised to override any gubernatorial veto.

"The clock ran out on us last year when it came to Romney's veto, which I view as an insult to veterans. If the governor makes the same mistake again, we will have the time, as well as the votes, to override the veto," states Association President Ralph White.