Lawmakers Back Off Abercrombie's Call for Pension Reform

Nanea Kalani/Civil Beat

Lawmakers are backing off from Gov. Neil Abercrombie's proposals for massive reform of retirement benefits.

A key Senate committee Wednesday killed Senate Bill 1268, the governor's plan to save $42 million by cutting Medicare Part B for current retirees and dramatically cut back his proposal to save $32 million by ending the use of overtime in figuring retirement benefit.

The Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee were concerned the move to require retirees to pay their own Medicare Part B bills was unconstitutional, citing an opinion from the attorney general obtained Tuesday night.

The committee also amended a bill that would have stopped overtime pay and bonuses from counting toward calculating how much the state contributes toward pensions. The revised version would allow current and future workers to gain higher pensions from at least 50 percent of their overtime.

The hearing was a continuation from Friday, when Abercrombie was jeered when he testified in support of the two bills.

Loading