If anyone knows his way around the legislature, it is state Sen. R.C. Soles of Columbus County, the General Assembly's longest serving member, who's been in the House or Senate since 1969. (He is retiring at the end of his term, after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge in February.)
The powerful Democrat remembers well the days when legislative leaders tucked bills into the agenda here and there, bills that sometimes were of benefit to one well-connected constituency but got through because a leader (always a Democrat, of course) wanted them.
It still happens, but generally not with the brass Soles is demonstrating with a regrettable attempt to boost the pension of a longtime acquaintance and ally, Rex Gore, district attorney for Bladen, Brunswick and Columbus counties. Gore, defeated in his bid for re-election (he's been the D.A. since 1991) in the Democratic primary, has about 22 years of service in the pension system applying to judges and district attorneys. Those with 24 years, or who are 65 years old, can begin collecting their pensions at those points.
A bill from Soles would change that to 20 or more years of service or 62 years of age. That would allow Gore to begin collecting his pension when he leaves office in January, rather than having to wait until he normally would become eligible in April of 2013.
Special treatment
Theoretically, The News & Observer's Joseph Neff reports, five of the 563 contributing members of the judicial retirement plan might be able to take immediate advantage of the change, but Gore is the only one likely to do so. The others are expected to qualify under current rules when their service concludes.
For his part, Gore readily acknowledges talking to Soles, who is from Tabor City in Columbus County, about the issue. He calls it a "loophole" in the retirement system, as does Soles. That's hard to figure. The service/age parameters of most retirement systems are clear. They just have to be met, and with his defeat, Gore clearly doesn't qualify yet.
That may be a mildly unfortunate break for him, but the system seems generous as it stands, and if other people have been meeting the requirements all these years, the rules should not be changed for one person.
Those itchy backs
This amounts to an example of back-scratching at its worst, and it needs to be stopped in its tracks, and any legislators who go along with it are just as responsible as Soles is.
In an apparent response to The News & Observer's report on this issue, Soles by week's end seemed to be retreating just a little. He now says he'll have state officials determine how many people would be affected by his proposal, implying that if Gore was the sole beneficiary, the matter could be dropped. He also says Gore called him and asked him to kill the bill after the news coverage about the request.
Concerning the bill's immediate impact, The N&O already reported who might be affected. But in the long term, of course, everyone in the system would benefit with earlier retirement, which would be a considerable expense to the retirement system covering judges and district attorneys.
Soles' attempt to alter the rules is outrageous in and of itself, a special favor for Gore. The maneuver is all the worse, symbolically at least, because it comes at a time when all other parts of government are trimming sails. It's no time for a nostalgic visit to the old ways of lawmaking.
