The new legislative session commenced on January 1 with the swearing-in of the 194th General Court. Representative Ronald Mariano (D-Quincy) was elected Speaker, and Senator Karen Spilka (D-Ashland) was elected Senate President. Leadership teams and committee assignments were finalized in the last week of February. The Joint Committee on Public Service is particularly important to the Association, as the majority of its legislation filed will be reported to that committee for initial public hearings. The committee will be chaired by Representative Dan Ryan (D-Charlestown) and Senator Michael Brady (D-Brockton).
TOTAL OF 15 BILLS FILED
For this session, the Association has submitted a total of 15 bills, including 12 refiles and 3 new pieces of legislation. Some legislation will have both a House and Senate version.
Refiled legislation addresses areas such as COLA, pensions, insurance, veterans, survivors, and disability pensions. In addition to ongoing work with the COLA Commission that began in January, we have refiled a combined version of the state and teacher COLA base increase bill and the enhanced COLA bill for all systems. We have also refiled legislation to increase the veteran bonus, which remains a priority for this session.
Given the growing concerns regarding healthcare affordability, two notable refiles relate to insurance. The first bill would require the GIC to participate in a Medicare Buy-In program. It is worth noting that the GIC is actively working on this internally, and we are collaborating with them on this process. Though intensive, it is a valuable exercise that could yield cost savings for both retirees and the Commonwealth.
The second notable bill is legislation that would protect municipal retirees by ensuring any premium split increases are prospective in nature. When municipal budgets tighten, many administrations seek relief through cost-shifting measures affecting retirees and employees. Changing the premium split for retirees is often the easiest method, requiring only a vote from the city council, select board, or school board. This legislation aims to protect current retirees from significant impacts.
This session, we have proposed three new pieces of legislation. The first would mandate a minimum contribution to the retirement system by the public employer once they become fully funded. Additionally, we are filing two new bills related to municipal health insurance, addressing the consultant/broker relationship within municipalities and the composition of the Insurance Advisory Committee.
In addition to the Special COLA Commission, our Association also holds a seat on the Task Force charged with examining post-retirement public sector work. As you may know, public retirees are allowed to return to public sector employment here in Massachusetts but are restricted in the hours they can work and earnings in a calendar year.
Like the COLA Commission, the Task Force will review the current law and system to make recommendations on potential changes. Given the fact that many Association members are currently working in a post-retirement public sector job, we are particularly interested in improving the system to make the rules less confusing and convoluted. Mass Retirees has nominated Association Treasurer Joe Connarton to serve as our designee on the Task Force.