General Assembly Approves Pension Reform

By a 57-15 vote, the state House of Representatives approved a pension reform bill that proponents say will reduce the state's unfunded liability and sustain the retirement system.

According to an online record, the House voted on its version of measure at 7:39 p.m., then approved the Senate bill two minutes later by a 57-14 tally.

Then, at 7:56 p.m., the Senate voted 32-2 to approve the House version, officially making the legislation law.

Reps. Christopher R. Blazejewski (D-East Providence), John Savage (R-East Providence), Helio Melo (D-East Providence) and Frank R. Devall Jr. (D-East Providence) voted in support of the measures. Rep. Roberto DaSilva (D-East Providence) voted in opposition to the measures.

Earlier in the day, the state Senate voted 34-2 to approve its version of the pension reform bill. Sen. Daniel Da Ponte (D-East Providence, Pawtucket) was among the "yes" voters.

The Senate's legislation web page — which is not official until results are listed in the Senate record — noted the final vote occurred at 5:35 p.m.

The Finance Committees of the House and Senate separately approved the bills — House Bill 2011-H-6319 and Senate Bill 2011-S-1111 — on Nov. 10, and forwarded them for votes by each chamber. 

After sometimes-contentious hearings at the end of October and beginning of November, union leaders told a joint meeting of the House and Senate Finance Committees that the proposed reforms amounted to "draconian" measures, with firefighters union spokesman Paul Valetta charging Raimondo with "cooking the books" to make the situation look more dire than it is.

In testimony before the joint committee on Nov. 1, Raimondo told legislators that the reforms are needed for the long-term health of the pension system.

"This bill will solve the problem once and for all. If we don't do this comprehensively enough, we'll be back here in two or three years," Raimondo said.

- With reports from Abigail Crocker