AUGUSTA - The Maine House and Senate voted on Thursday to advance a bill sponsored by Rep. Scott Cuddy, D-Winterport, that would ensure certain educational technicians are not required to pay into the Maine Public Employee Retirement System (MePERS) and can instead collect social security.
"Maine faces a shortage of educational technicians," said Cuddy. "Fortunately, not all of these positions require certification for them to work. That is true for people at the first level of ed tech authorization. These folks, who often work other jobs that already allow them to collect social security, should also be allowed to do so as ed techs. We need to be streamlining employment opportunities for these critical workers instead of making their benefit system more complex and cumbersome."
LD 275 represents a technical fix to current state law. The bill was proposed in the 129th Legislature as LD 1949, and was passed unanimously by the Labor and Housing Committee but did not made it to a final vote when the Legislature adjourned early due to COVID-19.
The bill now awaits the Governor's approval.
Cuddy, a member of the Labor and Housing Committee and the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee, is serving his second term in the Maine House of Representatives. He represents House District 48, which includes Frankfort, Searsport, Swanville and Winterport.
Contact:
Jackie Merrill [Cuddy], c . 812-1111