Bill Text: NY S04476 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes a government employee benefit fee for state employees; establishes a state government employee benefit fund.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-04 - REFERRED TO FINANCE [S04476 Detail]
Download: New_York-2011-S04476-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
4476
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
April 6, 2011
___________
Introduced by Sen. MARTINS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
AN ACT to amend the state finance law and the civil service law, in
relation to government employee benefit payments
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
1 Section 1. Legislative findings and declarations. The legislature
2 hereby finds and determines that real property taxes in New York state
3 are too high, and that the burden that they place upon our citizens,
4 homeowners and businesses, is making it difficult for New York state to
5 thrive, prosper and succeed.
6 The legislature further finds and determines that the only way to
7 realistically reduce the real property tax burden upon our citizens,
8 homeowners and businesses, is to place a comprehensive approach in state
9 law which controls costs and spending for local governments, and
10 provides significant mandate relief with respect to their fiscal obli-
11 gations.
12 The legislature additionally finds and determines that a comprehensive
13 approach of capping property taxes, controlling governmental employee
14 benefit costs, and providing significant mandate relief to local govern-
15 ments will promote the controlling of the cost and spending for local
16 governments, as well as helping to provide significant mandate relief
17 with respect to their future fiscal obligations.
18 The legislature finally finds and determines that this act seeks to be
19 a part of a comprehensive approach to reduce real property taxes across
20 the state by controlling of governmental employee benefit costs and the
21 provision of significant mandate relief to local governments.
22 S 2. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 92-o to
23 read as follows:
24 S 92-O. STATE GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE BENEFIT FUND. 1. THERE IS HEREBY
25 CREATED IN THE JOINT CUSTODY OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER AND THE PRESIDENT
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10712-01-1
S. 4476 2
1 OF THE STATE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION, A STATE GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE BENE-
2 FIT FUND.
3 2. SUCH FUND SHALL CONSIST OF THE REVENUES DERIVED FROM THE GOVERNMENT
4 EMPLOYEE BENEFIT FEE COLLECTED BY THE STATE OF NEW YORK PURSUANT TO
5 ARTICLE THIRTEEN-A OF THE CIVIL SERVICE LAW, TOGETHER WITH SUCH ADDI-
6 TIONAL VOLUNTARY PAYMENTS MADE TO THE FUND PURSUANT TO ARTICLE THIR-
7 TEEN-A OF THE CIVIL SERVICE LAW.
8 3. FOLLOWING THE APPROPRIATION OF THE LEGISLATURE, MONIES FROM THE
9 FUND SHALL BE USED, UPON CERTIFICATION BY THE STATE COMPTROLLER, FOR THE
10 PAYMENT OF ANY PUBLIC EMPLOYEE BENEFIT EXPENSE INCURRED BY THE STATE.
11 FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, AN EMPLOYEE BENEFIT EXPENSE SHALL
12 INCLUDE ANY EXPENSE DERIVED FROM THE PROVISION OF ANY NON-WAGE BENEFIT,
13 INCLUDING HEALTH CARE BENEFITS, INSURANCE BENEFITS, PENSION BENEFITS,
14 PARKING BENEFITS, DAY CARE BENEFITS, EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS OR ANY OTHER
15 BENEFIT PROVIDED TO A PUBLIC EMPLOYEE AS RECOGNIZED BY THE PRESIDENT OF
16 THE STATE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION PURSUANT TO REGULATION. PAYMENT OF
17 THE MONIES OF THE FUND SHALL BE MADE BY THE STATE COMPTROLLER, DIRECTLY
18 TO THE STATE, PURSUANT TO DIRECTION OF THE APPROPRIATION MADE BY THE
19 LEGISLATURE. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE STATE COMPTROLLER MAKE ANY PAYMENT
20 FROM THE FUND, IF THE MONIES CONTAINED IN SUCH FUND, DO NOT EXCEED THE
21 AMOUNT OF THE PAYMENT OR PAYMENTS TO BE MADE TO THE PROVIDER OR PROVID-
22 ERS OF THE EMPLOYEE BENEFITS.
23 S 3. The civil service law is amended by adding a new article 13-A to
24 read as follows:
25 ARTICLE 13-A
26 GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PAYMENTS
27 SECTION 190. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE BENEFIT FEE.
28 S 190. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE BENEFIT FEE. 1. THE STATE OF NEW YORK SHALL
29 HEREBY ESTABLISH A GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE BENEFIT FEE. SUCH FEE IS TO BE
30 DEDUCTED FROM EACH EMPLOYEE OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT WHO RECEIVES ANY
31 NON-WAGE BENEFIT FROM THEIR EMPLOYMENT. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION,
32 THE TERM "NON-WAGE BENEFIT" SHALL INCLUDE HEALTH CARE BENEFITS, INSUR-
33 ANCE BENEFITS, PENSION BENEFITS, PARKING BENEFITS, DAY CARE BENEFITS,
34 EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS OR ANY OTHER BENEFIT PROVIDED TO SUCH PUBLIC
35 EMPLOYEE AS RECOGNIZED BY THE PRESIDENT PURSUANT TO REGULATION. SUCH
36 FEE, WHICH SHALL BE IN ADDITION TO ANY OTHER DEDUCTIONS OR FEES CURRENT-
37 LY ALLOWED BY LAW, SHALL BE DETERMINED PURSUANT TO REGULATION ESTAB-
38 LISHED BY THE PRESIDENT. SUCH FEE SHALL NOT BE IN EXCESS OF FIVE PERCENT
39 OF THE GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE'S GROSS WAGES, AND SHALL BE DEDUCTED IN EQUAL
40 AMOUNTS PER PAY PERIOD.
41 2. UPON THE ISSUANCE OF THE REGULATION OF THE PRESIDENT DETERMINING
42 THE AMOUNT OF THE GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE BENEFIT FEE, THE PRESIDENT SHALL
43 NOTIFY THE STATE COMPTROLLER, IN WRITING, OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SUCH
44 FEE. UPON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SUCH FEE, COMMENCING ON THE FIRST OF
45 JANUARY AFTER THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SUCH FEE, AND THEN EVERY NINETY DAYS
46 THEREAFTER, THE STATE COMPTROLLER SHALL PROVIDE FOR THE QUARTERLY TRANS-
47 FER OF ALL MONIES COLLECTED FROM SUCH FEE, TO THE STATE GOVERNMENT
48 EMPLOYEE BENEFIT FUND FOR DEPOSIT IN THE SPECIAL STATE ACCOUNT FOR
49 DEPOSIT WITHIN SUCH FUND. THE STATE, UPON APPROPRIATION BY THE LEGISLA-
50 TURE, MAY ALSO TRANSFER ADDITIONAL MONIES, IN EXCESS OF THE MONIES
51 COLLECTED FROM THE GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE BENEFIT FEE, TO THE STATE COMP-
52 TROLLER, FOR DEPOSIT IN THE STATE'S SPECIAL ACCOUNT WITHIN THE STATE
53 GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE BENEFIT FUND.
54 3. THE PRESIDENT MAY, IN WRITING, DIRECT THE STATE COMPTROLLER TO PAY
55 SPECIFIED EMPLOYEE BENEFIT COSTS INCURRED BY THE STATE, FROM THE STATE'S
56 SPECIAL ACCOUNT WITHIN THE STATE GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE BENEFIT FUND, TO
S. 4476 3
1 THE PROVIDER OR PROVIDERS OF SUCH NON-WAGE BENEFITS. IN NO EVENT SHALL
2 THE STATE COMPTROLLER MAKE ANY PAYMENT FROM THE SPECIAL ACCOUNT, IF THE
3 MONIES CONTAINED WITHIN SUCH SPECIAL ACCOUNT, DO NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT
4 OF THE PAYMENT OR PAYMENTS TO BE MADE BY THE STATE COMPTROLLER TO THE
5 PROVIDER OR PROVIDERS OF THE EMPLOYEE BENEFITS.
6 4. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, ANY
7 GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE BENEFIT FEE ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION,
8 AND ANY COLLECTION OF SUCH FEE BY THE STATE, SHALL NOT BE DEEMED TO
9 CONSTITUTE, BE SUBJECT TO, OR BE IN VIOLATION OF, ANY TERM OR CONDITION
10 OF EMPLOYMENT, WITH RESPECT TO ARTICLE FOURTEEN OF THIS CHAPTER.
11 S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
