Page 16 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2023 BEACON | FROM Page 14 sion, hundreds of bills are admitted as late-fi led bill CONFIDENTIALITY OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES (S 2684) – Before the 2022 session ended on January 3, the House approved and sent to the Senate legislation expanding the 2019 law that ensures confidentiality for first responders, including an active or retired law enforcement officer, police offi cer, state police trooper, sheriff or deputy sheriff , fi refi ghter and emergency medical personnel, who seek mental health services from a peer counselor. The bill, which would expand the current law to include state or municipal police criminalists, crime scene personnel, police dispatchers and 911 operators, died in the Senate. “The … committee supported [the bill],” said Rep. Carlos Gonzalez (D-Springfi eld), the chair of the Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security which handled the proposal. “It is good policy. The folks serving our community should not worry about privacy issues or unfounded stigmatization for seeking mental health treatment. We owe them any support we can aff ord them—including the assurance of confi dentiality when they seek help.” Rep. Ed Coppinger (D-Boston), the sponsor of the bill, did not respond to repeated requests from Beacon Hill Roll Call asking why he fi led the bill, how he feels about its death in the Senate and whether he will refi le it for the 2023-2024 session. OVERDOSES AND NALOXONE (S 3182) – Before the 2022 session ended, the Senate approved and sent to the House a bill designed to increase access to and education about the drug overdose-reversal medication Naloxone, or a similar medication. The measure would require doctors and other medical professionals who prescribe an opioid to a patient to also prescribe Naloxone or a similar medication under certain circumstances. The bill died in the House. “We must do all we can to prevent overdoses in the ongoing opioid epidemic,” said Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn), the sponsor of the bill. “This law would help improve education of and access to Naloxone, which in turn can save lives in emergency situations. I look forward to re-fi ling this bill and working with my colleagues to get it signed into law.” SEABEES DAY (S 3159) – Before the 2022 session ended, the House and Senate approved and formerGov. Baker signed into law a bill designating March 5 as United States Navy Seabees Day in recognition of the birthday of the United States Naval Construction Battalion, better known as the Navy Seabees, formed on March 5, 1942. Supporters said the Seabees were created for a dual mission to build and to fi ght in support of combat operations, humanitarian outreach and nation-building. Sen. Mike Rush (D-Boston), the sponsor of the measure did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call to comment on the signing of the bill and why he fi led it. QUOTABLE QUOTES – While Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov Kim Driscoll assumed offi ce on January 5th, the other four statewide constitutional offi cers were not sworn in until January 18. Here are some quotes from each of their remarks on Inauguration Day: “My hope is that every day, women and young people who look like me—and see the incredible work of this offi ce—will feel less invisible, despairing and lonely because there continues to be a shining example of what is possible. We can provide greater economic opportunity by tackling wage theft; protecting residents from predatory practices and scams; fi ghting to ensure families have the tools they need to buy or stay in their homes; and punishing unfair or discriminatory practices that stand in the way of upward mobility and opportunity.” ---Attorney General Andrea Campbell “I love this state. It is full of talented, diverse, hard-working people of every color, background and religion. I am so honored that you have again placed your trust in me as your treasurer. I look forward to building upon our work to ensure that everyone who calls Massachusetts home has equal opportunities to achieve economic stability and security for themselves and their families for generations to come.” ---Treasurer Deb Goldberg “We know representation matters and I am thrilled that we have a more representative and diverse group of leaders recently elected across our state. Congratulations. But I submit to you that if we really want to see the bold and meaningful change that working families and historically underserved communities need and deserve — we must also talk about access - and why access matters. ---Auditor Diana DiZoglio “One of the things we’re seeing is that there’s a need for better civic education, especially in high schools, of what the signifi cance of elections are. I mean, I think the root cause of some of the election denialism and some of the other hostility that’s out there is people don’t really understand what government is supposed to do.” ---Secretary of State Bill Galvin HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK’S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature’s job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been fi led. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late-night sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session. During the week of January 1620, the House met for a total eight hours and 33 minutes while the Senate met for a total of 7 minutes. Mon. Jan. 16 No House session No Senate session Tues. Jan. 17 House 11:02 a.m. to 7:33 p.m. Senate 11:34 a.m. to 11:39 a.m. Wed. Jan. 18 No House session No Senate session Thurs. Jan. 19 House 11:01 a.m. to 11:03 a.m. Senate 11:15 a.m. to 11:17 a.m. Fri. Jan. 20 No House session No Senate session Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com Bob founded Beacon Hill Roll Call in 1975 and was inducted into the New England Newspaper and Press Association (NENPA) Hall of Fame in 2019 What Happens if You Work While Receiving Social Security? Dear Savvy Senior, I started drawing my Social Security retirement benefi ts back in 2021 when I was forced to retire early, but I’m now interested going back to work part-time. Will this aff ect my benefi ts, and if so, how much? Back to Work Dear Back, You can collect Social Security retirement benefits and work at the same time but depending on how old you are and how much you earn, some or all of your benefits could be temporarily withheld. Here’s how it works. SSA Earning Rules Social Security says that if you’re under your full retirement age and are collecting benefits, then you can earn up to $21,240 in 2023 without jeopardizing any of your Social Security if you don’t reach your full retirement age this year. But if you earn more than the $21,240 limit, you’ll lose $1 in benefits for every $2 over that amount. Full retirement age is 66 for those born between 1943 and 1954, but it rises in two-month increments every birth year to age 67 for those born in 1960 and later. You can find your full retirement age at SSA.gov/ benefits/retirement/planner/ ageincrease.html. In the year you reach your full retirement age, a less stringent rule applies. If that happens in 2023, you can earn up to $56,520 from January to the month of your birthday with no penalty. But if you earn more than $56,520 during that time, you’ll lose $1 in benefits for every $3 over that limit. And once your birthday passes, you can earn any amount by working without your benefits being reduced at all. Wages, bonuses, commissions, and vacation pay all count toward the income limits, but pensions, annuities, investment earnings, interest, capital gains and government or military retirement benefits do not. To figure out how much your specific earnings will affect your benefits, see the Social Security Retirement Earnings Test Calculator at SSA.gov/OACT/COLA/ RTeffect.html. It’s also important to know that if you do lose some or all of your Social Security benefits because of the earning limits, they aren’t lost forever. When you reach full retirement age, your benefits will be recalculated to a higher amount to make up for what was withheld. For more information on how working can affect your Social Security benefits see SSA.gov/benefits/retirement/ planner/whileworking.html. Be Mindful of Taxes Too In addition to the Social Security rules, you need to factor in Uncle Sam too. Because working increases your income, it might make your Social Security benefits taxable. Here’s how it works. If the sum of your adjusted gross income, nontaxable interest, and half of your Social Security benefits is between $25,000 and $34,000 for individuals ($32,000 and $44,000 for couples), you have to pay tax on up to 50 percent of your benefits. Above $34,000 ($44,000 for couples), you could pay on up to 85 percent, which is the highest portion of Social Security that is taxable. About a third of all people who get Social Security have to pay income taxes on their benefits. For information, call the IRS at 800-829-3676 and ask them to mail you a free copy of publication 915 “Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits,” or you can see it online at IRS.gov/ pub/irs-pdf/p915.pdf. In addition to the federal government, 12 states – Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and West Virginia – tax Social Security benefits to some extent too. If you live in one of these states, you’ll need to check with your state tax agency for details. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior. org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.
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