With a on a 24-10 vote, the state senate passed a pension reform bill in a hurry today. The contents of the bill were not released to the public until Tuesday–while casino gambling sucked up attention in the news–leaving a total of one day before debate and a vote. The alleged reason for the vote is a projected shortfall in making up the unfunded liability of teacher pensions. Those details have also not been made public. This is lawmaking at its most opaque.
The State House News Service reports:
Saying he feared his Democratic colleagues were setting him and other Democrats for a series of potentially damaging political votes, Sen. Frederick Berry on Thursday afternoon appealed to them to resist insisting on recorded votes on amendments to pension reform legislation. Berry said Democratic supporters of the bill believe their approach to benefits for future state workers was necessary to “save” the pension system and its benefits, and was designed for the overall benefit of the state.
