AWSP Blog

Each chamber is now engaged in floor sessions deciding the fate of various bills. Committee action is at a minimum. The next critical deadline is Feb. 15th when bills need to be out of their house of origin and committee hearings restart. As an annual reminder, no bill is ever ‘dead’ until Sine Die, and any bill deemed ‘necessary to implement the budget’ (NTIB) remains alive until the bitter end.

Since covering pension/retirement/health insurance issues on behalf of WASA and AWSP, there are a few important points we have learned. This is just a brief summary of selected retirement related topics. However, the importance of advance planning cannot be overstated. These are not issues to put off until the last month of either one’s impending retirement or approaching Medicare eligible age. It’s best to complete your retirement application 30–90 days before you plan to retire.

The legislative session has concluded, the Governor has acted, and now as the show goes on, districts have to adjust. Clearly, the COVID virus, and Federal and state efforts to lessen the financial impacts on states, businesses, and individuals, came into play during this session.

The biennial budget, worked out in secrecy, will supposedly be released after this report is due. Dollars drive or kill policies, so there may be some surprises in the agreed-upon document. Meanwhile, here is a brief report on bills that are still in play and/or that have changed status since previous reports.

Both houses are engaged in moving bills back and forth in order to get agreement from both bodies on a specific piece of legislation. A few policy bills are being heard until the end when policy bills that are NTIB will be heard and acted upon. Below is a report on the status of various bills that are still in play and/or have changed status since previous reports.