Reform for Thee, Not for Me

The House passed a limited version (more to come, they promise) of pension reform last night. I note one particular amendment that got added on the floor:

FAGAN AMENDMENT – EFFECTIVE DATE: Rep. Fagan offered amendment # 48 providing that only employees hired after July 1, 2010 will be affected by provisions of the bill prohibiting public officials earning less than $5,000 from crediting that time toward their pensions.

The amendment was adopted. [Provided by State House News, sub. req.]

As our 2006 paper noted:

According to the legislators’ biographies on the General Court website, at least 62 out of 200 representatives and senators served in one or more of these local positions [i.e. local positions at no or low salaries] before becoming members of the Legislature. Fifteen legislators had 10 or more years in these positions and several had more than 20.

So this amendment not only exempts sitting legislators from these rules but waits over a year for it to even kick in.

Does this feel like the hard choices we are told need to be made?