Friends and neighbors,
I have received several questions about why I voted against this year’s pensions bill. I appreciate the chance to explain.
The bill does take a meaningful step toward correcting some of the longstanding unfairness faced by Tier II teachers. Unfortunately, it only pays for about half of the $40 million needed to fully fund their enhanced retirement benefit. If that funding gap isn’t addressed, it could jeopardize the solvency of the entire teacher pension system. I supported an amendment to fund it fully and immediately, but that amendment was voted down.
While I believe it’s irresponsible to tell teachers we are giving them this benefit without actually paying for it, I could live with that portion of the bill because we still have time to fix it. Had I been able to vote on the teacher retirement provision separately, I would have voted yes.
But the pensions bill also included a much more serious problem that I could not overlook. It strips healthcare benefits from duty-disabled first responders who are injured on the job, like police, firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics. Under this bill, if they’re not considered 100% disabled, they’ll lose access to the healthcare they’ve earned. These men and women stepped into danger to protect the rest of us and made tremendous sacrifices in doing so. I couldn’t cast a vote to take away their healthcare.
My job as your senator is to weigh the good and the bad, listen to your feedback, and vote my conscience. In this case, the bad outweighed the good. I am glad we took a step in the right direction for teachers, but I won’t support a bill that turns its back on the people who run toward danger to keep us safe.
If you have any questions or feedback, please shoot me an email or give me a call; I am happy to chat. It’s an honor to serve you.
Sincerely,