April 16, 2008
Dear MSCA Faculty and Librarians:
Attached below is an analysis of the House budget for fiscal year 2009. This budget includes the increases in health insurance premiums that were originally proposed by Governor Patrick.
Please take a minute NOW to contact your state representative and urge their support for the budget amendment sponsored by Rep. Martin Walsh to keep group health insurance premiums at current levels. If your state rep is not already a sponsor of this amendment, please urge him/her to become a sponsor. (This amendment has about 100 signed sponsors.)
Amendments must be filed by Friday, so your prompt action on this request is critical.
The bill to provide state health insurance coverage to part-time faculty is still in the Senate. Please contact your state senator and urge his/her support of this bill as well.
Thank you for your cooperation with this request.
Pat Markunas MSCA President
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House Ways & Means Budget / Higher Ed Preliminary Analysis
From: "Isaacson, Arline" aisaacson@massteacher.org
The House Ways and Means Committee released its version of the FY’09 state budget this afternoon. We are still in the process of analyzing it, but have the following preliminary information:
1) GIC – “85/15”
As predicted, this version of the budget includes a significant increase in the premiums paid by state employees for their health insurance coverage. The plan mirrors the Governor’s increase:
a) Employees earning less than $35,000 would pay 15% b) Employees earning $35K - $50K would pay 20% c) Employees earning more than $50K would pay 25%
As you know, these increases are huge. Increasing to 20% from 15% would constitute an increase of 33 1/3% for state employees. Those whose premiums increased to 25% would be paying for a 67% increase.
MTA has prepared for this proposal by meeting with other state employee labor unions and planning an amendment strategy for it. Rep. Marty Walsh (D-Dorchester) will offer an amendment to delete these increases. We plan on lobbying legislators to sign onto the Walsh amendment as co-sponsors. They must sign on by 5PM this Friday. This is where you can help:
Please ask your members to contact their state representatives and urge them to not only vote for the Walsh amendment, but just as importantly to SIGN ONTO the amendment as a co-sponsor.
2) Higher Ed Funding
The House Ways & Means Committee describes its budget as follows:
UMass - $24.2m increase as provided for in the higher ed formula State & Community Colleges - $13.3m increase as provided for in the higher ed formula
Dave Danning is reviewing the budget and preparing spreadsheets we can send to you tomorrow with his analysis of their numbers.
3) Finances
Ways & Means describes its revenue sources for FY’09 as follows:
a) They “trim” over $100 m from state spending b) They “identify” $253m worth of “savings and reforms “ c) They “infuse” $166m from enhanced revenue collections d) They garner $381 m from a $1-per-pack cigarette tax increase and corporate tax reform e) They use $427 m of stabilization funds leaving the state with approximately $2 billion in reserves.
4) COLA
The budget includes a 3% cost of living increase (COLA) for retirees. [Please Note: By law, COLAs for state retirees are NOT granted on their complete pensions, but rather on only the first $12,000 of their pensions.]
Timeline for the budget process
1) The budget was released this afternoon. Amendments to the budget must be filed by Friday at 5PM. If legislators wish to be listed on an amendment as a co-sponsor, they must sign onto the amendment by Friday. (This is the reason we need you to ask your members to contact their legislators asap on the 85/15 amendment.) 2) Amendments will be available to the public next week. MTA will review and analyze all the amendments filed during that week and let you know if we need to take collective action against any others. 3) The House budget debate is expected to begin Monday April 28. It will likely last several days, depending on the number of amendments filed and the length of the debate.
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