Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H4079 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2429 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4079
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Kip A. Diggs
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act relative to public retirees and reforming post-retirement employment and earnings limits.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Kip A. Diggs2nd Barnstable1/16/2025 1 of 3
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2429 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4079
18	18	By Representative Diggs of Barnstable, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 4079) of Kip
19	19	A. Diggs relative to public retirees and reforming post-retirement employment and earnings
20	20	limits. Public Service.
21	21	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
22	22	_______________
23	23	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
24	24	(2025-2026)
25	25	_______________
26	26	An Act relative to public retirees and reforming post-retirement employment and earnings limits.
27	27	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
28	28	of the same, as follows:
29	29	1 SECTION 1. Section 91 of chapter 32 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022
30	30	2Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 96 and 111, the figure “1,200” and
31	31	3inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 1,320.
32	32	4 SECTION 2. Said section 91 of said chapter 32, as so appearing, is hereby further
33	33	5amended by adding the following subsection:-
34	34	6 (f) Each person referred to in subsection (b) employed under this section must adhere to
35	35	7the 1,320 hourly cap in said subsection (b) and subsection (c) while ensuring compliance with all
36	36	8other earnings and reporting requirements.
37	37	9 SECTION 3. Said chapter 32 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 91C the
38	38	10following section:- 2 of 3
39	39	11 Section 91D. (a) Any retired individual receiving a public pension from a state other than
40	40	12the commonwealth and who is employed by an public entity of the commonwealth shall be
41	41	13subject to a reduced earnings limit under the following provisions: (i) earnings from public
42	42	14employment by the commonwealth shall not exceed 50 per cent of the annual salary for the
43	43	15position in which the retired individual is employed; and (ii) the total hours worked in a calendar
44	44	16year shall not exceed 900 hours for any such retired individual.
45	45	17 (b) Public employers of the commonwealth who hire out-of-state retired individuals shall:
46	46	18(i) report the employment status, position and compensation of such retired individuals to the
47	47	19public employee retirement administration commission established under section 49 of chapter 7
48	48	20within 30 days of their hiring; and (ii) ensure compliance with the reduced earnings limits set
49	49	21forth in this section.
50	50	22 (c) The public employee retirement administration commission shall: (i) develop a
51	51	23centralized system to monitor the earnings and hours of all public retired individuals employed
52	52	24by public entities of the commonwealth; and (ii) publish an annual report detailing compliance
53	53	25with post-retirement earnings limits, including specific data on out-of-state retired individuals.
54	54	26 (d) Employers who fail to comply with the reporting requirements under section 91A
55	55	27shall be subject to administrative fines not exceeding $5,000 per instance of noncompliance.
56	56	28 (e) Any out-of-state retired individuals found to have knowingly exceeded the earnings or
57	57	29hour limits under section 91A shall be required to: (i) return all earnings above the allowed
58	58	30threshold to the employing public entity of the commonwealth; and (ii) pay a financial penalty
59	59	31equal to 25 per cent of the excess earnings. 3 of 3
60	60	32 (f) Public entities of the commonwealth shall: (i) prioritize the hiring of public retired
61	61	33individuals of the commonwealth for positions that fall under the purview of section 91; and (ii)
62	62	34be eligible for state funding incentives if their hiring practices demonstrate a preference for
63	63	35retired individuals of the commonwealth.
64	64	36 (g) The public employee retirement administration commission shall develop an online
65	65	37tool to: (i) allow public retired individuals to calculate their earnings limits based on current
66	66	38employment and pension status; and (ii) provide public employers of the commonwealth with
67	67	39resources to ensure compliance with sections 91 and 91A.
68	68	40 (h) The public employee retirement administration commission shall launch a public
69	69	41awareness campaign to educate retired individuals and public employers about post-retirement
70	70	42employment system compliance introduced under this section.
71	71	43 SECTION 4. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2026.