The purpose of the Police Career Incentive Pay Program, or Quinn Bill, enacted in 1970 by the Massachusetts legislature, was to encourage police officers in participating municipalities to earn degrees in law enforcement and criminal justice and to provide educational incentives through salary increases. The enactment of such legislation and the expansion of criminal justice as an academic field can be attributed to the 1967 report of the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice (the Johnson Crime Commission). A predominant theme of the Commission's reports was that the quality and effectiveness of American criminal justice would be decisively improved by upgrading the educational credentials of its practitioners.
"Friday (May 1st) night the House of Representatives voted on the Quinn Bill amendment(s) as they proposed changes in their version of the State Budget. It was a long day with a lot of rumors. Many things changed rapidly. In any event a vote took place in the House late last night. On a vote of 101 - 40 the Representatives in the House voted to fund the Quinn Bill to only $25,000,000. This equals a $38,000,000 shortfall. In addition to the vast underfunding, there was also language added that grand -fathered all current police officers who are currently receiving Quinn benefits. According to what we know now, any officer that enrolls in an accredited program prior to July 1, 2009 will be eligible. All new hires, after July 1, 2009 will not be eligible to receive Quinn benefits.
As you know the orginial proposal by the House Ways and Means Committee budget eliminated funding of the Quinn Bill in its entirety. This was obviously not acceptable. The $25,000,000 was allegedly all the funds available that could be appropriated for the Quinn Bill this year.
We thank MMPC district legislators Representatives Paul Donato and Peter Koutoujian. A special thank to Representative Chris Fallon who never waivered and continued his support to fight for a fully funded Quinn Bill. This was the amendment that was supported by the MMPC and EVERY OTHER POLICE GROUP. Thank you to all of the police groups that worked tirelessly on preserving and fully funding the Quinn Bill. Each group worked as hard as the next and all were on the same page on this issue. The MMPC worked closely with the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) throughout this process. We appreciate their efforts and willingness to share information with us.
In the end, the House of Representatives reached a compromise amongst themselves. They voted on and passed this modified Quinn Bill. None of the police groups agree with or are happy with this so-called compromise. It does not fully fund the Quinn and we may be looking at a reduction in our pay depending upon what your CBA reads.
ON TO THE SENATE
From here, the debate will move to the Senate. It will start all over there. We are going to be following the same drill. We will be asking you and your memberships to again make phone calls, send e-mails, and mail letters. We will be looking for your participation and your ideas and suggestions. Regardless of false rumors that we did not make a sufficient amount of calls, I am confident we did our best. "
