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S 1903

Grants peace officer status to animal control officers of the county of Schuyler

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Tom O'Mara

Amends MA Chapter 32 to allow disability retirees to return to active service in a different position or retirement system, with pension impacts and cross-system crediting rules.

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Bill Summary · S 1903

Summary — S.1903 (as provided)

Note up front: the materials you supplied contain conflicting metadata. The header lists S 1903 as “Grants peace officer status to animal control officers of the county of Schuyler,” and sponsors named include U.S. Senators Edward Markey and Martin Heinrich. The full bill text you supplied, however, is a Massachusetts Senate bill (Senate Docket No. 569 / Senate No. 1903, filed 01/14/2025) titled “An Act relative to disability retirees and restoration to service,” introduced by MA Senator Michael F. Rush. This summary focuses on the actual bill text included in your packet (the Massachusetts Chapter 32 amendments). Please verify the intended jurisdiction and official bill text before using this summary for final decisions.

Main purpose

Amend Chapter 32 (Massachusetts public retirement law) to (1) broaden and clarify procedures for restoring disability retirees to active service, including allowing return to a different position or a different retirement system, and (2) set rules for crediting and apportioning pension obligations when a retiree returns to service under a different retirement system.

Key provisions

  • Revises Paragraph (a), Subdivision (1), Section 8 of Chapter 32:
    • Replaces the phrase “the same department” with “a retirement system” where applicable.
    • Adds “or similar position” after the word “job,” clarifying allowable positions for return-to-work evaluations.
    • Adds a new paragraph permitting a disability retiree, during the regular periodic review, to request evaluation not only for return to their former position but also for a specific identified different position. The requested evaluation must be conducted like other examinations under this section. If found able to perform the essential duties of the identified position, the member may return to active service in that position and their pension (under section 6 or 7) will cease upon return.
  • Amends Paragraph (b), Subdivision (2), Section 8 of Chapter 32:
    • If a member returns to service in a different retirement system than the one from which they retired, the original retirement system will provide creditable service for any period of disability before reinstatement.
    • If the member is later retired again for a disability arising from the same injury, the original retirement system will be assessed a portion of the disability pension in accordance with subdivision (5) of Section 7.

Who is affected

  • Disability retirees covered by Massachusetts public retirement systems
  • Municipal and state retirement systems and plan administrators
  • Employers and human resources departments who hire retired members into active service
  • Pension funding and actuarial liabilities for affected retirement systems

Potential impacts

  • Enables disability retirees to be re-employed in identified positions (including outside their original department) and to have pensions suspended upon return to work.
  • Introduces cross-system crediting of disability service and rules for allocating pension costs if a subsequent disability retirement arises from the same injury — potentially shifting pension liabilities among retirement systems.
  • Administrative impacts: additional evaluations, inter-system coordination, and accounting for pension offsets or assessments.

Procedural / timeline notes

  • The Massachusetts bill text is dated filed 01/14/2025 (Senate Docket No. 569 / Senate No. 1903), presented by Michael F. Rush.
  • Legislative actions listed in your materials are inconsistent (dates include 01/14/2025 filing, 02/27 and 05/22 referrals/hearings, and 10/30/2025 committee report). Confirm current status with the official Massachusetts General Court website or clerk for the most recent action and committee assignments.

If you want, I can:
- Pull the official bill text from the Massachusetts General Court and reconcile current status;
- Draft a short fiscal/staff analysis outline estimating potential pension cost effects and administrative steps.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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