Bill Text: NY S02728 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Prohibits the diminution of health insurance benefits of public employee retirees and their dependents or reducing the employer's contributions for such insurance; defines employers to include the state, municipalities, school districts, and public authorities and commissions.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-6)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO CIVIL SERVICE AND PENSIONS [S02728 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S02728-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2728

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 24, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens. SANDERS, COMRIE, HARCKHAM, MAYER, SKOUFIS, THOMAS,
          WEIK -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be commit-
          ted to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions

        AN ACT in relation  to  affecting  the  health  insurance  benefits  and
          contributions of certain retired public employees

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. On and after the effective  date  of  this  act,  a  public
     2  employer shall be prohibited from diminishing the health insurance bene-
     3  fits provided to retirees and their dependents or the contributions such
     4  employer  makes  for  such  health insurance coverage below the level of
     5  such benefits or contributions made on behalf of such retirees and their
     6  dependents by such employer as of the effective date of this act.    For
     7  the purpose of this act, (1) "public employer" shall mean the following:
     8  (i)  the  state;  (ii)  a  county, city, town or village; (iii) a school
     9  district, board of cooperative educational services,  vocational  educa-
    10  tion and extension board or a school district as enumerated in section 1
    11  of  chapter  566  of the laws of 1967, as amended; (iv) any governmental
    12  entity operating a college or university; (v) a  public  improvement  or
    13  special  district  including  police  or  fire  districts; (vi) a public
    14  authority, commission or public benefit corporation; or (vii) any  other
    15  public  corporation, agency, instrumentality or unit of government which
    16  exercises governmental power under the  laws  of  this  state;  and  (2)
    17  "retiree"  shall  mean  a retiree of the New York state and local police
    18  and fire retirement system or the New York state  and  local  employees'
    19  retirement  system  who retires from police service or fire service that
    20  qualifies under subdivision 11 of section  302  of  the  retirement  and
    21  social  security  law  or a retiree of the New York city fire department
    22  pension fund who was represented by the collective  bargaining  unit  of
    23  Local 854, I.A.F.F.
    24    §  2.  Nothing  contained  in this act shall supersede or diminish the
    25  terms of a collective bargaining agreement.
    26    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05933-01-3