GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
Early Read on the 2012 General Assembly Session
It’s very, very early in the 2012 session of the General Assembly, but these three issues are shaping up as the biggest that legislators are likely to tackle this year.
Municipal Pension Reform Next on the Docket
There will be no rest for the weary at the General Assembly this session. After successfully tackling the state’s unfunded pension liability during a special session in October, the Assembly now appears poised to address an even more complex issue – how to fix local pension plans, many of which are seriously underfunded.
This fix will be even more difficult than last year’s. While the state system was based on statute, the municipal, or non-MERS (Municipal Employees Retirement System), pension systems are a result of collective bargaining. This reality not only defies a “one size fits all” fix, it gives all those systems the added factor of generally being considered a “contractual right.”
A new 14-member commission created by last year’s pension reform legislation held their first meeting last Wednesday (January 25) to begin considering their options. Of the 36 non-MERS plans across the state, only 13 were at least 60% funded when they were last reviewed.
Redistricting Process in Final Stretch
The Judiciary Committees in both the House and the Senate held hearings on Tuesday, January 24 on a proposed redistricting plan. This begins the final leg of the once-a-decade process, which is driven by new U.S. Census data.
“The goal of redistricting is to draw districts whose populations are as close to equal as possible so each citizen is equally represented by their elected officials,” said Redistricting Commission Chairman Sen. Michael J. McCaffrey (D-Dist. 29, Warwick) when the process began late last year. “The census showed that Rhode Island’s population centers have shifted since the last time we redistricted after the 2000 census, and the result is that districts now vary dramatically in terms of their total population,” McCaffrey added. The plans before the Judiciary Committees reflect the recommendations of the reapportionment commission on how to move House and Senate district lines, with the goal of making those districts as equal in population as possible. The legislation creating the commission also called for districts to be compact and as contiguous as possible, taking into account “natural, historical, geographical, municipal and other political lines, as well as the right of all Rhode Islanders to fair representation and equal access to the political process.”
To learn more about the redistricting, visit the State’s redistricting website at: http://riredistricting.com
2012 Budget Battle
Gov. Lincoln Chafee now plans to submit his Fiscal Year 2013 budget on Tuesday, January 31. (The fiscal year will begin July 1, 2012.)
Gov. Chafee has not shared many specifics, but he has said publicly that there will be many “painful” cuts – despite the $117 million in savings as a result of November’s pension reform bill. The Governor has also said he is inclined to revisit some – if not all – of the revenue producing tax increases and new taxes he proposed last year. These proposals were largely rejected by the Assembly.
If recent comments by legislative leaders are any indication, the Assembly seems poised to do the same this year, as well. At last week’s chamber of commerce legislative luncheon, the consensus among the leaders who spoke was that new taxes were a “last resort.”
The Society will keep an eye on all these issues, particularly any tax issues, as the session progresses.
