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An Act To Clarify and Protect Certain Public Service Retirement Benefits
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §17801, sub-§1, ¶B, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 489, §3, is amended to read:
 
B. The protections established under the provisions listed in subparagraph (1) constitute solemn contractual commitments of the State protected under the contract clauses of the Constitution of Maine, Article I, Section 11 and the United States Constitution, Article I, Section 10, under the terms and conditions set out in subparagraph (2).
 
(1) The commitment provided by this section applies to the protections established under the specific following provisions:
 
(a) Section 17001, subsection 4; and subsection 13, paragraph B, subparagraph (1) and paragraph C, subparagraph (2);
 
(b) Section 17806, subsectionsubsections 1 to 4;
 
(c) The subsection of section 17851, that is applicable to each member;
 
(d) The paragraph of subsection 2 of section 17851-A, that is applicable to each member;
 
(e) The paragraph of subsection 4 of section 17851-A, that is applicable to each member; and
 
(f) The subsection of section 17852, that is applicable to each member.
 
(2) The commitment established in this paragraph attaches to a given provision of those specified in subparagraph (1) when the member in question has met the creditable service requirement set out in the given provision, on the basis of which the protection established by the provision becomes effective.
 
SUMMARY
This bill changes the contractual commitment to maintain state-protected benefits regarding cost-of-living adjustments for retired state employees and teachers by specifying that it constitutes a solemn contractual commitment of the State that is protected under the Constitution of Maine and the United States Constitution.