Bill Text: NY A06027 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Limits participation by employees of the New York state association of town superintendents of highways, inc., the New York state school boards association, the New York state association of counties, the association of towns of the state of New York, the New York conference of mayors and other municipal officials, or any school board association in the retirement system.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - referred to governmental employees [A06027 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A06027-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          6027
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    February 21, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M. of A. RYAN -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Governmental Employees
        AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in  relation  to
          participation  by  public or quasi-public organizations in the retire-
          ment system
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  Subdivision  a of section 31 of the retirement and social
     2  security law, as amended by chapter 379 of the laws of 1989, is  amended
     3  to read as follows:
     4    a. Any public or quasi-public organization created wholly or partly or
     5  deriving  its powers by the legislature of the state and which organiza-
     6  tion employs persons engaged in service to the public or any state agen-
     7  cy as defined in section fifty-three-a of the state finance law, or  the
     8  New  York state association of town superintendents of highways, inc. or
     9  any school board association,  by  resolution  legally  adopted  by  its
    10  governing  body  and  approved by the comptroller, may elect to have its
    11  officers and employees become eligible to participate in the  retirement
    12  system.    Acceptance  of the officers and employees of such an employer
    13  for membership in the retirement system shall be optional with the comp-
    14  troller. If he shall approve  their  participation,  such  organization,
    15  except  as  specifically provided in this article to the contrary, shall
    16  thereafter be treated as a participating  employer.  Any  election  made
    17  pursuant  to  this  subdivision  by  a school board association shall be
    18  applicable to current employees of such  association.    Notwithstanding
    19  the  foregoing provisions, any officer or employee of the New York state
    20  association of town superintendents of  highways,  inc.,  the  New  York
    21  state school boards association, the New York state association of coun-
    22  ties,  the  association  of towns of the state of New York, the New York
    23  conference of mayors and other municipal officials, or any school  board
    24  association,  first employed on or after the effective date of the chap-
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07938-02-7
        A. 6027                             2
     1  ter of the laws of two thousand seventeen which  amended  this  subdivi-
     2  sion, shall not be eligible to participate and/or receive service credit
     3  in the retirement system based on such employment.
     4    §  2. Section 609 of the retirement and social security law is amended
     5  by adding a new subdivision i to read as follows:
     6     i. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or  any  other
     7  law,  rule  or  regulation, an officer or employee of the New York state
     8  association of town superintendents of  highways,  inc.,  the  New  York
     9  state school boards association, the New York state association of coun-
    10  ties,  the  association  of towns of the state of New York, the New York
    11  conference of mayors and other municipal officials, or any school  board
    12  association,  shall  not receive service credit for employment with such
    13  organization on or after the effective date of this subdivision.
    14    § 3. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
    15  sion, section or part of this act shall be  adjudged  by  any  court  of
    16  competent  jurisdiction  to  be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
    17  impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall  be  confined  in
    18  its  operation  to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
    19  or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
    20  ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
    21  the legislature that this act would  have  been  enacted  even  if  such
    22  invalid provisions had not been included herein.
    23    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
          FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
          This  bill would deny eligibility for membership in the New York State
        and Local Employees' Retirement System (ERS) to persons  first  employed
        by the following associations on or after the bill's effective date:
          The  New  York  state association of town superintendents of highways,
        inc,
          The New York state school board association,
          The New York state association of counties,
          The association of towns of the state of New York,
          The New York conference of mayors and other municipal officials, and
          Any school board association.
          Further,  this  legislation  would  disallow  future  service   credit
        accruals  for  employment  rendered  on  and after the effective date by
        those who currently are ERS members employed by  such  associations.  If
        this becomes law, this bill is likely to face a constitutional challenge
        based upon the guarantee that a member's benefits may not be diminished.
          If  this  bill  is  enacted,  there  will be no cost to the retirement
        system.
          Summary of relevant resources:
          The membership data used in  measuring  the  impact  of  the  proposed
        change  was  the same as that used in the March 31, 2016 actuarial valu-
        ation. Distributions and other statistics  can  be  found  in  the  2016
        Report  of  the  Actuary  and  the  2016  Comprehensive Annual Financial
        Report.
          The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in  the  2015
        and  2016 Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and
        the Codes Rules and Regulations of the State  of  New  York:  Audit  and
        Control.
          The Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March 31, 2016
        New  York  State  and  Local  Retirement System Financial Statements and
        Supplementary Information.
          I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and meet the Quali-
        fication Standards to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
        A. 6027                             3
          The estimate, dated February 16,  2017,  and  intended  for  use  only
        during  the  2017  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No. 2017-66,
        prepared by the Actuary for the New  York  State  and  Local  Retirement
        System.