The bill will cause the “disabled” or “handicapped” terms to be replaced by the phrase with “persons with disabilities.”
Mach has fought for the rights of persons with disabilities in and out of the Legislature. Mach was involved in an automobile accident on June 14, 1997 that left a 19 year friend dead and her with severe injuries. According to the Capitol Times, Mach “lost an arm, was legally blind in both eyes due to cataracts caused by the accident, and carried significant scars.”
The Speaker of the House Andy Tobin is struggling to get things done. With a majority in the Legislature, a bill that would limit how much future public employees can collect in pensions failed by two votes.
HB 2058 would have changed existing law which bases retirement pay on a combination of highest salary and years of service. Workers can collect up to 80 percent of their earnings, according to Capitol Media Services. The law would have provided that “only up to $150,000 of earnings in any one year can be counted toward pension computations.”