| Hartford, CT –
In response to an investigative report first published
in Sunday’s Hartford Courant, State Senate
Minority Leader John McKinney (R-Fairfield) today said
he will work with legislative colleagues to establish
a consistent statewide rehiring procedure to help prevent
potential abuses under the current system.
An analysis of state records published in The Courant
found that nearly 1,000 state-agency retirees collected
both a pension and a paycheck from the State of Connecticut
in 2008, earning more than $14 million in salaries last
year, on top of more than $44 million in pension payments.
The vast majority of the rehired retirees worked for
state universities and colleges, or the University of
Connecticut Health Center.
Senator McKinney said, “I was
alarmed by the number of state employees ‘double
dipping’ on pensions and salaries. The number
of rehired retirees and the salaries they are being
paid raises questions as to whether the system is being
abused at taxpayer expense.”
Senator McKinney is calling on legislative leaders
to fast-track Governor M. Jodi Rell’s proposal
requiring every executive branch hiring in every state
agency, including state universities, to be fully vetted
and approved by the Office of Policy and Management
(OPM). He is calling on the legislature and judicial
branch to adopt similar policies. He is also looking
to review all exceptions to the state’s 120-day
rule, which limits the number of days someone collecting
a state pension can also earn income from a state job.
“The state of Connecticut needs to maintain fiscal
control over its hiring processes by establishing a
reasonable standard for evaluating whether or not the
services of rehired pensioners actually saves the state
money or benefits Connecticut taxpayers in some other
way,” said Senator McKinney.
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