MTA legislative agenda includes a proposed early retirement incentive
MTA legislative agenda includes a proposed early retirement incentive
On Saturday, Dec. 5, the MTA Board of Directors voted unanimously to support the inclusion of 15 bills and the Fair Share Amendment on the association’s 2021-2022 legislative agenda. One piece of legislation is an early retirement incentive for members of the Massachusetts Teachers’ Retirement System.
Although the Board approved the association’s legislative priorities, no bills have been filed or passed at this point. The development of the agenda was an intensive, member-driven process that included significant input from educators across the Commonwealth.
The MTA Government Relations and Legal Services divisions are currently beginning the drafting process for bills in order to meet the Jan. 15 filing deadline.
The provisions of the early retirement bill, when filed, will include an option for eligible MTRS members to purchase years in age and/or years of service during a limited period of time. In order to avoid teacher shortages, this bill will also include language requiring that districts backfill any vacancies created by the program.
Copies of all of the bills on the MTA’s legislative agenda will be posted on the association website in early 2021.
After the bills are filed in January, members will be urged to contact their legislators to ask them to support these important measures and encourage them to sign on as legislative co-sponsors.
Once legislative committees have been established, bills will be assigned to them and hearings will begin to be scheduled (generally between March and November). The time before the hearing will be used to build support for our agenda in order to gain the support needed to have MTA-backed bills, including the one concerning early retirement, reported out favorably from the committees.