June 12, 2008
Diversionary Trojan Horse
The latest version the "Trojan Horse" bill--introduced Tuesday--is crafted to lock in the health benefits of only a select group of retirees: former police officers and firefighters.
The strategy appears to be that if you're having trouble sneaking a giant wooden horse undetected through the gates of Troy (or Legislature), try a smaller horse.
The latest bill would create a task force on retiree health insurance "protection". It also imposes a one-year moratorium prohibiting state and local government employers from changing retiree health benefits--unless police and firefighters unions agreed to identical changes for current employees.
The bill contains similar language to a bill that would create a task force and impose one-year moratorium affecting a larger group of retired public employees. (Once adopted, the moratorium is likely to be quasi-permanent, judging from history. In 1994, the Legislature imposed a moratorium affecting retired teacher benefits--and has renewed it annually since then.)
For background on what has become known as the "Trojan Horse" bill, see NY Public Payroll Watch (here, here and here). The bill is live on the Senate floor. In the Assembly, it has moved to the Ways & Means Committee.
The bill affecting only retired cops and firefighters is in the Senate Rules Committee. Look for an Assembly version to be introduced shortly.
The two bills (minus the task force provision) are similar to moratorium bills the Legislature passed in 2007, one covered a broad group of retirees, the other only for cops and firefighters. Former Governor Spitzer vetoed both bills. His predecessor Governor George Pataki vetoed previous versions of the same measure.
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