Pensions

• Top 10 Legislative Issues to Watch in 2013
• BY: Dylan Scott,Ryan Holeywell   |   January 2013
• Here are 10 of the biggest topics states will tackle in the year ahead.
• 2 Comments

• Teachers Rack Up Wins Against Reform Efforts
• BY: Alan Greenblatt   |   January 2013
• Education reform ideas that have generally received widespread support are experiencing pushback in the states, including some surprising places.
• 1 Comments

• Pension Obligation Bonds: Risky Gimmick or Smart Investment?
• BY: Eric Schulzke   |   January 2013
• POBs have bankrupted cities, including Stockton, yet some are still big players.
• 4 Comments

• Dockworkers Strike Could Close East Coast Ports
• Source: The New York Times   |   Nation   |   December 27, 2012
• The dockworkers are flexing their muscles again, threatening a strike beginning Sunday that would shut seaports from Massachusetts to Texas.

• Fallout from Right-to-Work Clouds Snyder's Future
• Source: The Detroit Free Press   |   Michigan   |   December 27, 2012
• Once well-positioned for re-election in 2014, he faces accusations of betrayal and plunging approval numbers.
• 1 Comments

• IRS to Raise Limits on Retirement Contributions in 2013
• Source: The Washington Post   |   Nation   |   December 27, 2012
• The expiring Bush tax cuts aren’t the only laws worth watching for investors as the year ends. A number of new rules are kicking in next year that will allow workers to stash away more money in their 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts.

• D.C. Metro Transit Police Chief to Retire
• Source: Washington Post   |   District of Columbia   |   December 21, 2012
• Metro Transit Police Chief Michael A. Taborn, who has been with the agency for 31 years, is expected to stay on to help oversee operations on Inauguration Day next month and then step down in the spring.

• 401(k)'s, Higher Retirement Age Recommended for Arizona Pension System
• Source: Arizona Republic   |   Arizona   |   December 21, 2012
• Lawmakers should consider creating an optional 401(k)-style retirement plan and raising the retirement age for future public employees if Arizona is interested in changing its financially ailing public-pension system, according to a 13-member pension-study committee led by the state treasurer.

• Controversial Changes Proposed for Boston Schools
• Source: Boston Globe   |   Boston   |   December 21, 2012
• Mayor Thomas M. Menino said he is seeking to change state law so school districts can accelerate efforts to overhaul low-achieving schools with fewer roadblocks from teacher unions.

• Seattle Police Dept. Relaxes Hiring Policy on Pot Use
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Seattle   |   December 19, 2012
• The Seattle Police Department said that it will relax its hiring standards for officers in light of Washington's new marijuana-legalization law -- applicants will now be disqualified for past pot use within one year instead of three years.

• Massachusetts to Review Pension Holdings in Gun Firms
• Source: Boston Globe   |   Massachusetts   |   December 19, 2012
• As gun makers took a financial drubbing in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., shootings, Massachusetts Treasurer Steve Grossman directed the state pension fund to review its investments in any companies in the firearms industry.
• 5 Comments

• For Unions in Right-to-Work States, Nevada Offers Hope
• Source: AP/Washington Post   |   Nevada   |   December 17, 2012
• Nevada’s right-to-work experience gives a dispirited labor movement some hope even as it hemorrhages workers and reels from the approval of a right-to-work law last week in union-strong Michigan.

• North Carolina's New Health Secretary Picked from Outside the Box
• Source: Raleigh News & Observer   |   North Carolina   |   December 17, 2012
• Not many DHHS secretaries started their journey to state government in Warsaw – that’s Poland, not the town in Duplin County.

• Philadelphia Wants to Close 1 of 6 Schools
• Source: Philadelphia Inquirer   |   Philadelphia   |   December 14, 2012
• Proposing the largest contraction in the history of the Philadelphia School District, Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said that come June, he wants to shut 37 schools and relocate, close programs, or reshuffle grades at many more.
• 1 Comments

• Massachusetts Gov. Patrick Denies Forcing Out Departing Cabinet Members
• Source: Boston Globe   |   Massachusetts   |   December 14, 2012
• Governor Deval L. Patrick strongly denied he was forcing any of his departing four cabinet secretaries to leave, including two who have been caught up in recent controversies.