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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4633 FILED ON: 10/18/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4164
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Bradley H. Jones, Jr. and Bruce E. Tarr
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act exempting Thomas Romeo from the 75% pension and annuity limitation for police
officers hired after January 1, 1988 set forth in Chapter 32, Section 7(2)(a)(ii) of the General
Laws.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Bradley H. Jones, Jr.20th Middlesex10/18/2023Bruce E. TarrFirst Essex and Middlesex10/18/2023 1 of 2
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4633 FILED ON: 10/18/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4164
By Representative Jones of North Reading and Senator Tarr, a joint petition (subject to Joint
Rule 12) of Bradley H. Jones, Jr., and Bruce E. Tarr relative to accidental disability retirement
benefits for Thomas Romeo, a retired police officer of the town of North Reading. Public
Service.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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An Act exempting Thomas Romeo from the 75% pension and annuity limitation for police
officers hired after January 1, 1988 set forth in Chapter 32, Section 7(2)(a)(ii) of the General
Laws.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 WHEREAS, Thomas Romeo, a retired officer of the police department of the Town of
2North Reading, was determined to be totally and permanently incapacitated from performing the
3essential duties of a police officer pursuant to G.L. c. 32, §§7, 94, by the Middlesex County
4Retirement Board, which was approved by the Public Employee Retirement Administration
5Commission.
6 WHEREAS, Romeo relied to his detriment on inaccurate calculations provided to him by
7the Middlesex Retirement Board that were based through no fault of his own on an incorrect
8membership date and contributed to critical decisions made by him regarding his retirement; 2 of 2
9 SECTION 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of G.L. c. 32, §7(2)(a)(ii), the annual
10amount of pension payable to Thomas Romeo shall be amended and re-calculated as if his
11membership date with Middlesex County Retirement System was January 10, 1985.
12 SECTION 2. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, Romeo will be
13exempt from the following clause contained in chapter 32, section 7(2)(a)(ii) of the General
14Laws: "provided however, that for any employee who was not a member in service on or before
15January 1, 1988 or who has not been continuously a member in service since that date, the total
16yearly amount of the sum of such pension and the annuity as determined in accordance with
17clause (i) shall not exceed 75 per cent of the annual rate of regular compensation as determined
18in this paragraph;".
19 SECTION 3. The recalculation by the Middlesex County Retirement System shall be
20retroactive to Romeo's effective retirement date of January 20, 2023.
21 SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon its passage.