Legislative News: Appropriations Committee Approves DRS Tax Attorney Tentative Agreement
The Appropriations Committee voted to approve the tentative agreement between A&R and the State regarding the DRS tax attorneys and their placement into the A&R union (House Resolution #23 and Senate Resolution #26). This agreement will now go before the full legislature on April 17th. As you may recall, this group of non-unionized state employees successfully petitioned the state to join A&R in 2017. Protracted negotiations between the parties culminated in this tentative agreement, which simply transitions them from the management pay/benefit package into the A&R union contract.
There are 9 additional titles that have joined A&R since the Tax Attorneys joined and we are nearing an agreement on these 9 titles as well. We expect the next 9 titles to have an agreement which parallels the Tax Attorney agreement, however, we have not had finalization on that agreement yet. The Tax Attorney agreement has these essential components:
- MP-67 and MP-68 wage scales maintained and renamed AR-67 and AR-68
- FY 17 – Zero wage increase
- FY 18 – Zero wage increase
- FY 19 – Zero wage increase, but a one-time lump sum payment of $1000 or $2000;
- FY 20 – 3.5% GWI and 2% increment within range or 2.5% TopStepPayment
- FY 21 – 3.5% GWI and 2% increment within range or 2.5% TopStepPayment
- Longevity based on AR32 for those who otherwise qualify
- Vacation accrual rates will be as defined by the contract
- Healthcare rates will be at A&R rates
Watch the testimony from the Appropriations Committee on CT-N regarding this agreement.
Other Legislative News: Bill to Establish ConnectHealth Program Receives Favorable Committee Votes
There are a couple of bills (HB 7267 and SB 134) that are making their way through the legislature which have drawn some attention as they appear to be inviting private employers and municipalities into the State Employee Health Plan. Our understanding of these bills is that they are NOT seeking to add private employers into our health plan, rather they seek to add private employers/municipalities into a parallel health plan negotiated by the Comptroller's Office. The ConnectHealth Plan is modeled after the state employee plan but is not our plan. So the addition of private employers and municipal employees would not change the "risk assessment" of our plan and would therefore not impact the rates that State Employees pay, nor would it impact our network of doctors/facilities, nor would it impact our coverage. Both of the proposed bills have made it out of the committee level at the Legislature but it is not clear if they will pass both chambers on a full vote.