Governor Lincoln Chafee says he and the General Assembly have most of the authority to approve a settlement in a legal challenge to last year’s landmark pension overhaul. Court-ordered mediation is set to begin next month. State treasurer Gina Raimondo was the architect of the pension overhaul passed last year by the General Assembly and signed into law by the governor. Raimondo and Chafee are both defendants in the legal challenge filed by five public-sector unions against the overhaul. Chafee says approval by Raimondo isn’t necessarily part of a settlement in the case.
As the two sides in Rhode Island's pension lawsuit prepare for court-ordered mediation next month, Governor Lincoln Chafee says the authority to approve a settlement rests largely with him and the General Assembly.
“I have great respect for the judicial system and it is important to let this process unfold in an orderly and transparent way. We owe that to the people of Rhode Island and to our public employees.
Superior Court Judge Sarah Taft-Carter this morning told the two sides in the legal challenge to last year's landmark overhaul of the pension system to try to settle their differences through mediation.
Court spokesman Craig Berke says the talks will be facilitated by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, a branch of the federal government. Taft-Carter is due to be updated on the status of the discussions in early February.
State Treasurer Gina Raimondo has hired Anne-Marie Fink as the state's chief investment officer, replacing Kenneth Goodreau, who, Raimondo says, is leaving after four years for a CIO job with TIG Advisors, effective January 1.
Via news release:
Fink will be responsible for managing the state's $7.3 billion dollar pension system.