State administration director Richard Licht answered questions about the amendment after Chafee signed the pension bill into law on Friday. Licht said it's meant to curb the state's use of contract employees by imposing a 5.5 percent assessment on outside contractors.

"The way it works, it's an assessment on the state. The contractor doesn't have to pay it," said Licht. "It's assessed against the state and that money goes into the pension plan, so it just makes the pension fund that much stronger."

Chafee was unfamiliar with the amendment imposing the 5.5 percent assessment when asked about it after signing the pension bill.

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