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An Act To Expand the Number of Qualified Educators
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §17859, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2011, c. 420, Pt. L, §1, is further amended to read:
 
1. Restoration to service.   Any state employee or teacher who has reached normal retirement age and who retires after September 1, 2011 may be restored to service for up to 5 years. Any teacher who has reached normal retirement age and who retires after September 1, 2011 may be restored to service in one-year contracts with the appointing authority. The decision to hire a retired state employee or retired teacher under this section is at the discretion of the appointing authority. The retired state employee or retired teacher must have had a bona fide termination of employment in accordance with state and federal laws and rules, may not return to employment after retirement with the same employer for at least 30 calendar days after the termination of employment and may not return to employment before the effective date of the person's retirement.
Sec. 2. 5 MRSA §17859, sub-§2, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 380, Pt. MMM, §1, is amended to read:
 
A. The compensation of the retired state employee or retired teacher who returns to service must be set at 75% of the compensation established for the position to be filled, at a step determined by the appointing authority.
Sec. 3. 5 MRSA §17859, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 380, Pt. MMM, §1, is amended to read:
 
5. Exclusion.   A retired state employee or retired teacher who is hired as a substitute teacher is not subject to the restoration to service 5-year limitation in subsection 1 or the compensation limitation in subsection 2, paragraph A.
 
SUMMARY
This bill changes the law regarding the restoration of retired teachers to service by removing the provision that a retired teacher may be paid only 75% of the posted salary for the position and replaces the provision that a retired teacher may be restored to service for only up to 5 years with a provision that allows the retired teacher to be restored to service through one-year contracts.