Monthly
Status Report
August,
2005
Unit 7 Alert: Legislature overrides governor's
vetoes!
Overrides include a measure to restore funding
for state employee health insurance premiums.
The House and Senate have overridden several gubernatorial
vetoes, including a measure to restore funding
for state employee health insurance premiums.
Unit 7/State Employee Health
Insurance
With the Legislature’s override
of the Governor’s veto, as of January 1,
2006, the premium split will be restored to 85/15
for all state employees hired before June 30,
2003, while employees hired after that date who
make more than $35,000 will have an 80/20 split.
New employees earning less than $35,000 will
pay at the 85/15 rate. The override vote was
140-11 in the House and 37-0 in the Senate.
This restoration was promised by
legislators when they voted to temporarily increase
the employees' share in light of the fiscal crisis
of the past several years. MNA lobbied hard for
restoration.
Other vetoes by Governor Mitt Romney that were
overridden by the Legislature include:
- DMH –language giving
the Legislature approval power over closure Worcester
and Westboro
State Hospital to prohibit unilateral closure by
the Romney Administration
- DMR – language
giving the Legislature oversight over the Fernald
School, to prohibit
unilateral closure by the Romney Administration.
