38 Studios isn’t the only
matter of public policy that Gov. Chafee and Treasurer Gina
Raimondo disagree about. There’s also the governor’s
hotly-debated municipal pension reform proposal that Raimondo has given the cold
shoulder to publicly.
While she said much of her
work has been behind the scenes, and with municipal finance directors rather
than mayors, twice Raimondo dodged the question when I asked her on Friday if
she endorsed the governor’s pension proposal. On my third try, she said:
“Here’s what I would say: I
certainly endorse the concept of giving municipalities more tools to help them
do their work. This particular legislation is making its way through the
legislative process, and this is like a legal hornets’ nest. The General
Assembly, they are going to have to figure out the legal issues and the
language to try and do that.”
Chafee, for his part, wishes
Raimondo would have use her pension cred to help his municipal reform efforts
this session. In fact, he told me he wanted her to fight harder for them during
last year’s special session devoted to pension reform.
“We had a special session,
with total focus on pension reform,” he said. “What are we waiting for? It’s
time we get some energy behind this important area moving the state forward.”
Legislative leadership didn’t
want the municipal reforms in the landmark reform bill last year. Chafee fought
for it to be included and Raimondo not so much.
When pressed, she said the it
won’t withstand a court challenge.
“Listen, if we could have
figured out a constitutional, financially sound way to pass a statute that
reformed these independent pension plans last year we would have done it. I
wish we could have, I really do but there is no solution like that.”
She added, “We have to
respect collective bargaining.”
It’s a fair point, and one
that organized labor certainly agrees with. Pat Crowley of the NEA-RI has
described the governor’s municipal package as, “Wisconsin
heavy, not even Wisconsin light.” The bill would freeze annual raises for
communities with underfunded pension plans, lower disability pensions and
prevent cities and towns from offering more generous benefits than the state
plan.
But details aside, with both
municipal and statewide pension reform efforts, inevitable lawsuits will hinge
on whether or not a contract has been broken, and if so if a financial
catastrophe can be averted by doing so. A ruling last fall said that state
workers have an implied contract with the state.
“That was a summary judgment so
it remains to be seen,” said Raimondo. “We’ll see where it goes.”
Another theory is that
Raimondo doesn’t want to anger municipal unions, which could prove critical if
she runs for governor in 2014.
She vehemently ruled out
politics playing into her decision not to endorse the governor’s municipal
package, saying, “No, of course not. That’s not how I think about it.”
But she wasn’t so adamant
when I asked her if she was, in fact, thinking of running for governor.
“Never rule anything out,”
she said, “but I’m not thinking about it.”
Meanwhile, the next governor
won’t be chosen for another two years and the first lawsuits over pension
reform won’t be filed until the July or perhaps January, depending on when the
reforms first affect workers and retirees.
But it’s the final few days
of the legislative session and Chafee’s municipal aid package, including the
municipal pension reform proposal, rests in the hands of the House Finance
Committee.
The Committee heard the bills
earlier in the session and held them for further study. It would need to vote
them out in the coming days in order for them to take effect this year.
