Massachusetts Legislature

Two identical bills to reward public employees with a retirement credit bonus for working during the COVID-19 emergency are currently pending in each chamber of the Massachusetts Legislature.  The bills would add billions of dollars in liabilities to public pension funds and reward workers based on their compensation, years of service and age rather than the type or duration of the work performed during the emergency, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute.

Under Massachusetts law, the state Legislature is not considered a “public body” in the traditional sense, and therefore enjoys exemptions from open meeting and public records laws. Pioneer Institute believes this is unconstitutional. The state constitution says the Legislature should be accountable to...

Now that there has been sufficient time for experts and the media to review the various bills that the 189th General Court passed in its “Race to Recess”, it’s time to focus on the process itself. The late session scramble to pass...

http://www.governing.com/blogs/politics/gov-massachusetts-tackles-health-care-reform-again.html Now that the Supreme Court has closed the book on the first phase of health-care reform with its decision to uphold President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), Massachusetts is poised to kick off phase 2 — and like...