Legislative business as usual

Nice summary in the Times of this end-of session's grab bag of special-interest bills. My favorite part is about the pension "sweeteners" which are a consistently high priority for the Legislature, and a related borrowing scheme making them even more reckless:

"Critics note that even as lawmakers seek to expand pension benefits for public employees, they are close to approving a controversial bill that would allow financially troubled local governments to borrow from the state’s pension fund to cover payments they owe to the same fund.
 "'The Legislature just authorized delaying payments to the pension system because they are unaffordable,' said Elizabeth Lynam, the [Citizens Budget Commission’s] deputy research director. 'For them to be making pensions more expensive at the same time is completely irrational.'”