(1)
Advance Notice of Intent to Vote. At least two
calendar days in advance of any vote electing to change group health insurance
under the process authorized by M.G.L. c. 32B, §§ 21 through 23, the
appropriate public authority shall send a notice to each collective bargaining
unit to which the authority provides health insurance benefits and to the
Retired State, County Municipal Employees Association (RSCME) that the
political subdivision intends to vote on whether to implement the process. The
vote of the political subdivision under M.G.L. c. 32B, § 21(a) may be in
the following form: "The [name of political subdivision] elects to engage in
the process to change health insurance benefits under M.G.L. c. 32B,
§§ 21 through 23."
(2)
Notice of Vote, Request for Name and Contact Information for Public
Employee Committee Representatives, and Number of Eligible Unit
Members.
(a) A political
subdivision which has elected under M.G.L. c. 32B, § 21(a) to change
health insurance benefits under M.G.L. c. 32B, §§ 22 through 23,
shall, before implementing any changes, evaluate its health insurance coverage
and determine the savings that may be realized after the first 12 months of
implementation of cost-sharing plan design changes or upon transfer of its
subscribers to the commission. The appropriate public authority shall then
notify its insurance advisory committee, or such committee's regional or
district equivalent, of its estimated savings. The notice shall include all the
information required in
801 CMR
52.03. In any political subdivision in which
an insurance advisory committee has not already been established under M.G.L.
c. 32B, § 3, the appropriate public authority shall notify the president
of each organization of employees affected and shall designate and notify a
retiree of a governmental unit as a member of the committee. The insurance
advisory committee, within ten days after receiving this notice, shall meet
with the appropriate public authority to discuss its estimated savings and any
reports or other documentation requested by the insurance advisory committee
before that meeting. If the committee does not meet within ten days after
receiving proper notice, it shall be considered to have discussed the matter
with the appropriate public authority.
(b) Not later than two business days after
the insurance advisory committee meets with the appropriate public authority or
ten days after the insurance advisory committee receives notice from the
appropriate public authority, whichever occurs first, a political subdivision
which has elected under M.G.L. c. 32B, § 21(a) to make changes under
M.G.L. c. 32B, § 22 or 23 shall, provide a notice of its decision, in
writing, to the president or designee of each collective bargaining unit and to
the RSCME and shall include the number of employees eligible for health
insurance under M.G.L. c. 32B employed in each bargaining unit of the political
subdivision.
(c) In any political
subdivision which has not previously formed a public employee committee under
M.G.L. c. 32B, § 19, the notice shall request that each of the collective
bargaining units and the RSCME provide the name, address, phone number, and
email address of its designated public employee committee
representative.
(d) Where a public
employee committee already exists under M.G.L. c. 32B, § 19, each
collective bargaining unit and RSCME shall, within two business days of receipt
of notice under 801 CMR 52.02(2)(d), provide the appropriate public authority
with the name, address, phone number and email address of its designated public
employee committee representative. If no public employee committee exists at
the time of receipt of the notice, each collective bargaining unit and RSCME
shall designate a representative to a public employee committee exclusively to
negotiate changes under M.G.L. c. 32B, §§ 21 through 23 and provide
the appropriate public authority with the name, address, phone number and email
address of its designated public employee committee representative within five
business days after receipt of notice under 801 CMR 52.02(3). If no public
employee committee exists at the time of receipt of notice from the political
subdivision and the appropriate public authority has not received this
information from a collective bargaining unit or RSCME within five business
days, the collective bargaining unit's principal officer shall be the unit's
representative on the public employee committee, the president of the RSCME
shall be its representative on the public employee committee, and the
appropriate public authority shall send the notice specified under
801 CMR
52.03 to the collective bargaining unit's
principal officer and to RSCME's president.