2018 Benefit Sweetener Scorecard
Updated January 3, 2019. Twelve bills have been vetoed by the Governor.
Download Scorecard
2018 Benefit Sweetener Scorecard (Updated 01/03/2019)With negotiations completed and a State Budget enacted, the balance of this year’s legislative session will be devoted to moving bills through the legislative process, including proposals to enhance the benefits of State and local public employees and retirees. This first edition of the Citizens Budget Commission’s 2018 Benefit Sweetener Scorecard identifies 119 such bills active this session, which could cost the State and local governments at least $349 million. The exact cost cannot be determined since two-thirds of the bills are not accompanied by the required fiscal impact statement, or the fiscal impact statement does not provide a cost estimate. Bills to enhance pension benefits are most common; other costly bills would increase disability benefits, enhance death benefits, grant additional paid leave, or expand eligibility or limit changes to health insurance benefits. Some bills apply to public and private employers, and certain proposals purposefully target recent hard fought compromises between the State and organized labor that decreased pension and health insurance costs in exchange for avoiding layoffs. All of these bills should be rejected as they would increase taxpayers’ liabilities without improving services.
As the legislative session continues, the scorecard will be updated to monitor the status of each proposal, and new bills will be added as necessary.
Impacted Benefit | Bill Number and Sponsors | Last Actions | Description | Past Service + First Year Costs (dollars in millions) |
Fiscal Note |
Death or Disability Benefits | A10015 (Jenne) S7525 (Ritchie) | Referred to Governmental Employees Committee on 3/7/18 (A), Referred to Finance Committee on 2/27/18 (S) | Enhances in-service death benefit for State correction officers who are retirement eligible and die while in service. The death benefit for Tiers 2 through 6 will be the same as if those individuals had retired on the day of their death. The beneficiaries can decide whether they want to receive this in-service death benefit as a lump sum payment. Expires 5 years after enactment. | $13.20 | One-time past service cost of $13.2 million. |
Death or Disability Benefits | A1451 (Cahill) S1195 (Avella) | Referred to Local Governments 1/3/18 (A), On Third Reading 2/13/18 (S) | Requires volunteer firefighter and ambulance worker death benefits be paid within 90 days. | None | No fiscal note provided. |
Death or Disability Benefits | A4093 (Hooper) | Referred to Local Governments on 1/3/18 | Adds Bay Constables in the Town of Hempstead to list of individuals entitled to full salary if they become disabled as a result of their duties. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Death or Disability Benefits | A4331 (Abbate) S5699 (Croci) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Increases disability benefits for certain correction employees in Suffolk County who are injured by a civilian visitor. | $1.48 | The benefit would be 75% the final average salary less workers' compensation. Increase in annual county contributions by $220,000. Past service cost of $1.26 million. |
Death or Disability Benefits | A6367 (Magnarelli) S3904 (Griffo) | Passed Assembly on 3/20/18, Referred to Local Government on 1/17/18 (S) | Increases volunteer firefighter and ambulance worker total disability benefits from $600 to $650 per week. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Death or Disability Benefits | A6413-A (Abbate) S4634-A (Funke) | Referred to Ways and Means on 2/5/18 (A), Advanced to Third Reading on 3/5/18 (S) | Includes SUNY police officers for purposes of presumption of work-related disease regarding impairment caused by heart disease. | Minimal | Bill may lead to more disabilities classified as "performance of duty," but anticipates few performance of duty disability retirements will be granted rendering costs negligible. |
Death or Disability Benefits | A6501 (Abbate) S4564 (Golden) | Referred to Ways and Means on 1/3/18 (A), Advanced to Third Reading on 3/13/18 (S) | Provides all cancers experienced by a firefighter were incurred in the performance of duty. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Death or Disability Benefits | A6784 (Buchwald) | Referred to Local Governments on 1/3/18 | Makes permanent the presumption that heart-related disabilities experienced by firefighters are caused by firefighting activities, unless proved otherwise; originally adopted in 1977, set to expire in 2020. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Death or Disability Benefits | A6991 (Abbate) S6274 (Lanza) | Passed Assembly on 3/21/18 (A), Referred to Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions on 1/3/18 (S) | Provides paid time off, medical bills, and light-duty determination for Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police officers who become ill or injured in performance of their duties. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Death or Disability Benefits | A7120 (Jenne) | Referred to Local Governments on 1/3/18 | Makes permanent the presumption that lung disabilities incurred by volunteer firefighters are caused by firefighting activities; originally adopted in 2006, set to expire in 2020. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Death or Disability Benefits | A7600-C (Abbate) S5594-C (Golden) | Amended on 2/21/18 (A), Amended on 2/12/18 (S) | Allows members of the division of law enforcement in the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), forest rangers, university police officers, and regional state park police who are injured in the performance of their duty and can no longer perform their duty due to such injury to receive 3/4 accidental disability retirement. | $2.42 | Increased annual contributions of $350,000; immediate past service cost of $2.17 million. |
Death or Disability Benefits | A7837 (Abbate) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 | Requires state to pay for salary, wages, medical, and hospital expenses of injured revocation specialists, revenue crime specialists, and investigators. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Death or Disability Benefits | A8115A (Abbate) S6550 (Golden) | Referred to Governmental Employees 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Allows Tier 3 members of Police and Fire Retirement System to file for accidental disability benefit regardless of whether he or she is eligible for a normal service retirement benefit. The bill would also allow retirees who receive an accidental disability pension to continue to do so despite being disapproved from receiving a federal social security disability pension. | Minimal | Applies only to approximately 100 individuals. |
Death or Disability Benefits | A8164-A (Brindisi) S3770-A (Akshar) | Amended on 3/26/18 (A), Amended on 3/14/18 (S) | Creates presumption for police officers and fire-fighters that staph/MRSA infections are work-related. | Minimal | May lead to more disabilities classified as accidental; however, few retirements anticipated to be granted, costs expected to be negligible. |
Death or Disability Benefits | A8650 (Mayer) S2305 (Murphy) | Referred to Labor on 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Labor on 1/3/18 (S) | Would continue death benefits to a surviving spouse regardless of remarriage, impacting public and private employees. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Death or Disability Benefits | A8769 (Cusick) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 | Extends performance of duty disability retirement to New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) employees. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Death or Disability Benefits | A9010 (Abbate) S7140 (Golden) | Referred to Government Employees on 1/3/18 (A), On Third Reading 2/5/18 (S) | Allows any sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff, or correction officer employed by Nassau County to be eligible for a performance of duty benefit due to the act of a civilian at an institution under the jurisdiction of such county. Current law only applies to injuries caused by an inmate. | $1.43 | $210,000 annual cost; past service costs of $1.22 million. |
Death or Disability Benefits | A9667 (Paulin) S7554 (Gallivan) | Referred to Ways and Means on 3/20/18 (A), Referred to Local Government on 1/23/18 (S) | Extends optional disability coverage for probation officers to all counties, currently only applies in Nassau County. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Death or Disability Benefits | A9909 (Abbate) S7705 (Golden) | Referred to Ways and Means on 3/20/18 (A), Referred to Finance on 2/27/18 (S) | Allows Tiers 3, 4, 5, 6 uniformed court officers and peace officers in the Unified Court System to be eligible for an accidental disability. Benefit for accidental disability would be 75% of final average salary less workers' compensation. | TBD | Fiscal note does not provide a specific figure. |
Death or Disability Benefits | A993 (Simon) S3726 (Montgomery) | Referred to Government Employees on 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Allows workers to use accrued sick time, compensation time, or vacation time if injury is not yet covered under workers' compensation. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Death or Disability Benefits | S5410 (Flanagan) | Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 | Expands eligibility for enhanced disability benefits for certain members of the NYC Police Department (NYPD). | $13.50 | Cost to NYC $13.5 million for FY 2018. |
Death or Disability Benefits | S6135 (Golden) | Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Waives requirement for 10 years of service for uniformed NYC Correction employees to apply for disability retirement. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Death or Disability Benefits | S6261 (Amedore) | Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 | Provides accidental disability retirement benefit for fire protection specialists injured in the course of performing their duties. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Death or Disability Benefits | S6378 (Krueger) | Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 | Establishes optional plan for all NYC uniformed employees in Tiers 3 and 6 that calculates disability benefits using final average salary of 6th year salary; eliminates Social Security Disability Allowance (SSDA) Offset, and restores prior Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA). Employees qualifying for SSDA receive enhanced 75% Final Average Salary benefit. | $47 | No fiscal note provided; however, the sponsor's memo identifies fiscal impact of $47 million for NYC through FY 2019. |
Health Insurance | A1444 (Crouch) | Referred to Government Employees on 1/3/18 | Prohibits the diminution of health insurance benefits of public employee retirees, retroactive to May 1, 2008. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Health Insurance | A2000 (Abbate) S1612 (Golden) | Referred to Ways and Means 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Finance 1/16/18 (S) | Provides that state retirees be reimbursed by the State for both Medicare premiums and any other Medicare charges. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Health Insurance | A2823 (Abbate) S1862 (Golden) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Finance 1/29/18 (S) | Establishes State health insurance contribution rates and eliminates authority of president of Civil Service Commission to establish rates for retirees; sets retiree contribution rates at those in effect on last day of employment for employees retiring on or after January 1, 2012, for state workers only. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Health Insurance | A5455 (Weprin) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 | Prohibits state and local employers from diminishing health insurance benefits and employer contributions made toward such benefits for retirees below the level of benefits in place 30 days after this act becomes law. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Health Insurance | A7250 (Englebright) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 | Prohibits any public or private employers from diminishing benefits of retirees. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Health Insurance | A804 (Pretlow) | Referred to Government Employees on 1/3/18 | Permits school board members who have served 10 years to elect to receive state health insurance. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Health Insurance | S2688 (Breslin) | Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 | Prohibits the diminution of health insurance benefits of public employee retirees, between May 15, 2017 and May 15, 2018, unless similar changes are made for active employees. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Health Insurance | S4637 (Sanders) | Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 | Prohibits public employers from diminishing health insurance benefits to retired police officers and firefighters and their dependents. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Paid or Unpaid Leave | A11 (Cahill) | Referred to Labor on 1/3/18 | Grants retroactive leave for state employees who provided bone marrow or organ donation. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Paid or Unpaid Leave | A1797-A (Kim) S3749-a (Parker) | Referred to Labor 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Labor 1/3/18 (S) | Requires public and private employers to grant up to 24 hours of unpaid leave per 12 month period for parental involvement. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Paid or Unpaid Leave | A2024 (Fahy) S5574 (Golden) | Referred to Government Employees on 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Children and Families 1/3/18 (S) | Requires provision of 5 days of paid leave and counseling to Child Protective Services employees investigating child abuse or maltreatment when the child dies from such abuse or maltreatment. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Paid or Unpaid Leave | A2462 (Dinowitz) | Referred to Ways and Means on 1/3/18 | Permits excused absences of state employees for purposes of donating blood. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Paid or Unpaid Leave | A3983 (Solages) | Referred to Labor on 1/3/18 | Requires public and private employers to grant leave for parenting. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Paid or Unpaid Leave | A4147 (Rosenthal) S5669 (Carlucci) | Referred to Ways and Means on 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Grants excused leave to public officers and employees to undertake screening for cervical cancer. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Paid or Unpaid Leave | A4947 (Simotas) | Referred to Labor on 1/3/18 | Requires public and private employers to provide an additional 12 weeks of leave for birth or adoption of a child, in addition to leave provided by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Paid or Unpaid Leave | A7779 (Crouch) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 | Provides state employees 4 hours of additional leave for ovarian and cervical cancer screenings. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Paid or Unpaid Leave | A820 (Crouch) | Referred to Government Employees on 1/3/18 | Extends paid leave to civil air patrol volunteers at rate equal to full salary. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Paid or Unpaid Leave | A8616 (Abinati) S3684 (Addabbo) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Provides excused leave for any cancer screening, doubles number of paid leave hours to 8. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Pension Benefits | A10093 (Fahy) S7771 (Young) | Referred to Governmental Employees 3/14/18 (A), Referred to Civil Service and Pensions 2/21/18 (S) | Provides special payment to now retired management/confidential employees who had previously authorized raises withheld. | $9 | $9 million per sponsors' memo; however,no fiscal note provided. |
Pension Benefits | A10119 (Zebrowski) S7667 (Stavisky) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 3/16/18 (A), On Third Reading 3/5/18 (S) | Allows retired police and firefighters to work at public colleges as faculty of a criminal justice program or director of public safety without loss, suspension, or diminution of retirement allowance. | TBD | Fiscal note does not provide a specific figure. |
Pension Benefits | A2068 (Montesano) | Referred to Government Employees on 1/3/18 | Alters method of repayment of outstanding loans against an individual's retirement benefits following retirement. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Pension Benefits | A2454 (Miller MG) | Referred to Government Employees on 1/3/18 | Awards pension credit to members of public retirement system called for active duty military service since September 11, 2001, if they were in public employment during time of service. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Pension Benefits | A2979A (Brindisi) S2926A (Golden) | Amended on 1/23/18 (A), Amended on 1/8/18 (S) | Increases survivors' benefit of a retired state employee by $500. | $1.90 | $1.9 million annual costs. For employees retired before April 1, 1970 benefit increases from $2,000 to $2,500, and for employees retired after from $3,000 to $3,500. |
Pension Benefits | A2983-A (Abbate) S2910-A (Golden) | Amended on 1/12/18 (A), Amended on 1/8/18 (S) | Allows retired police and fire officers to work at community colleges as faculty of a criminal justice program without loss, suspension, or diminution of retirement allowance. | Minimal | Minimal |
Pension Benefits | A3327-A (McDonald) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 | Increases amount of money a retiree may earn in a position of public service from $30,000 to $35,000 without diminution of retirement benefits. | Minimal | The increase over the current limit is less than the increase of the consumer price index over the time that the current limit has been in place. Due to this, retirement patterns would be unaffected, rendering annual cost negligible. |
Pension Benefits | A3380 (Lalor) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 | Increases from $30,000 to $32,500 the amount of money a retired police officer may earn as a school safety officer without reduction in pension. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Pension Benefits | A3459 (Ra) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 | Removes income earning limitations for retired New York police and fire pensioners employed full-time as teaching faculty in specific fields. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Pension Benefits | A3466 (Lalor) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 | Removes income earning limitations for police officers employed as school safety officers. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Pension Benefits | A3965A (Abbate) S3552A (Golden) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Provides that public employee retirees seeking to be hired as a firefighter, police officer, or EMT, are eligible for a 5-year waiver from the $30,000 cap on wages. Current law provides that all waivers are limited to 2 years. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Pension Benefits | A4292-A (Thiele) S4050-A (Lavalle) | Referred to Codes on 2/22/18 (A), Referred to Local Government on 2/22/18 (S) | Increases $30,000 cap on public employment salaries to an amount calculated as the individual's final average salary less pension for retired police officers working as school security guards. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Pension Benefits | A6029 (Gunther) S4479 (Larkin) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Removes earnings limitation for retired firefighters employed as fire science instructors by career and technical education centers. | Minimal | Note expects few retirees to be affected with negligible additional annual costs. |
Pension Benefits | A6045-A (Steck) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 | Provides that the COLA for members of New York retirement systems should be based on a higher base benefit. | $2.94 | First year cost of $2.94 million to state, and $12.3 million to participating employers in Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS). Increases present value of benefits by $927 million. |
Pension Benefits | A6319 (Montesano) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 | Increases calculation of final average salary of justices and judges within NYS Unified Court System. | $48.90 | Increases the annual contribution by the state by $1.9 million for FY 2018. Future costs will vary as rates and salaries of affected members change. Past service cost $47 million. |
Pension Benefits | A6321 (Weprin) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 | Provides equal retirement benefits for persons who have been appointed to the title of superintendent in the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS). | $2.93 | Immediate past service cost is $2.93 million in addition to future costs that depend on affected members, whose salaries total $2.8 million for FY 2016. |
Pension Benefits | A6548-A (Thiele) S5134-A (Lavalle) | Amended on 2/5/18 (A), Amended on 2/5/18 (S) | Allows additional libraries to participate in the NYS Retirement System. | TBD | Depends on age, service, salary, tier status, and plan of affected employees. |
Pension Benefits | A6603-A (Brindisi) S5329-A (Tedisco) | Amended on 1/22/18 (A), Amended on 1/16/18 (S) | Extends minimum retirement allowance and increases allowance to some long retired teachers. | $0.45 | Annual cost is $448,000. |
Pension Benefits | A6785 (Kolb) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 | Allows SUNY campus public safety officers to transfer to the NYS Local PFRS to participate in a special plan with a 25 year half pay retirement benefit. | $1.07 | Annual contributions increase $210,000; immediate past service cost of $855,000. |
Pension Benefits | A7223 (Zebrowski) S5453 (Ortt) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Empowers NYS Comptroller to provide corrective remedy for any member of the retirement system, or any member who would otherwise be entitled to membership. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Pension Benefits | A7248 (Englebright) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 | Revives cause of action for denial of retroactive membership by public retirement systems for members who would have qualified for such relief under section 803. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Pension Benefits | A7354 (Ramos) S5640 (Croci) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Provides temporary retirement incentive to members of the Teachers' Retirement System, by waiving early retirement reduction for enrollees with 25 years of service who are 55 years old or older. | $29 | $29 million annual cost going forward as well. |
Pension Benefits | A7452 (Abbate) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 | Allows school district employees to obtain service credit for up to 10 years of service for the federal government, provided such service was not provided credit in another retirement system. | TBD | Total amount cannot be determined; however, costs would increase $22,200 per year of service credited for Tiers 1 through 5, and $17,300 per year for Tier 6 enrollees. |
Pension Benefits | A7598-A (Abbate) S5618-A (Ortt) | Amended on 2/5/18 (A), Amended on 1/24/18 (S) | Credits teachers who served as graduate assistants or in similar positions ability to purchase and receive retirement credit. | TBD | It is not possible to estimate the amount of retirement credit that would be claimed under this bill. |
Pension Benefits | A7599 (Abbate) S5731 (Parker) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Removes limit on inclusion of overtime pay for purposes of calculating final average salary for Tier 6 NYCTA employees enrolled in an early retirement plan. | $2.30 | Annual costs would increase each year by approximately $750,000. |
Pension Benefits | A7602 (Abbate) S5593 (Golden) | Referred to Ways and Means on 1/3/18 (A), Passed Senate on 3/6/18 (S) | Permits retiree members of NYS and Local Employees Retirement System to repay outstanding balance of a loan at any time. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Pension Benefits | A7706 (Abbate) S4277 (Gallivan) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18, Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Allows certain supervisory titles in DOCCS to opt into the early retirement plan. | $54.50 | Immediate past service cost of $54.5 million borne as a one-time payment, with future costs dependent on age, service, salary, and tier of affected members. Currently 613 members with total annual salary of $67 million. |
Pension Benefits | A7735-A (Abbate) S6098-B (Golden) | Amended on 2/21/18 (A), Amended on 2/16/18 (S) | Grants members of the NYPD with 15 years of service as lieutenant the same pension benefits as a lieutenant commander detective squad or lieutenant special assignment. | $1.40 | Increase in employer contributions of $1.4 million annually |
Pension Benefits | A7762 (Walker) S6140A (Golden) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Allows certain NYCTA employees participating in 25-year, age 55 retirement program to purchase furlough time as service credit. | $0.16 | Annual increase in costs of $160,000. |
Pension Benefits | A7872-A (Titone) S5725-A (Lanza) | Amended on 1/30/18 (A), Amended on 1/26/18 (S) | Increases amount a retiree may earn in public service without diminution of pension from $30,000 to $50,000. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Pension Benefits | A7900 (Abbate) S3651A (Felder) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 (A), Advanced to Third Reading on 3/6/18 (S) | Provides that if an NYPD officer achieves 25 years of service, his or her pension should be calculated as if he or she was a detective of the third grade who served in that position for 2 years at the highest rate of pay. If the officer has more than 30 years of service, he or she shall be treated as a sergeant. | $16.80 | Costs grow to $19 million in 2022. |
Pension Benefits | A8017-A (Abbate) S4540-A (Young) | Referred to Ways and Means on 3/20/18 (A), Amended on 1/22/18 (S) | Authorizes participating employers in the NYS PFRS offering 20 year retirement plans to offer such plans on a non-contributory basis. | TBD | No past service cost. Additional annual costs are borne by employers who elect to provide this benefit. |
Pension Benefits | A8021 (Abbate) S6381A (Alcantara) | Referred to Governmental Employees 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Modifies member contribution rate for Tier 6 NYCTA members who participate in the Transit 25-Year/Age 55 Retirement Plan from the current graded schedule of 3% to 6% based on members' wages to a flat 2% of wages. | $28.10 | Costs would increase by $28.1 million per year. |
Pension Benefits | A8109-B (Abbate) S6571-B (Golden) | Referred to Ways and Means on 2/5/18 (A), Amended on 2/1/18 (S) | Allows NYS Retirement System and NY State and Local Retirement System member who files for service retirement after being eligible to retire for 5 or more years to be eligible to receive a partial lump sum of up to 35% of his or her reserve in exchange for a reduction in annual retirement allowance of up to 35% thereafter. | None | Lump sum payments would be actuarially determined to have no net cost. |
Pension Benefits | A8269-A (Cusick) S6573-A (Golden) | Amended on 3/28/18 (A), Amended on 3/28/18 (S) | Establishes 25 year retirement program for NYC water supply police. | $0.26 | Annual costs to NYC would increase by $259,000 per year |
Pension Benefits | A8327 (Gunther) S2946 (Boyle) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Removes earnings limitation for retired police officers while employed as school resource officers, school safety officers, or other substantially similar positions. | Minimal | Expects few retirees to be affected with negligible additional annual costs. |
Pension Benefits | A8365 (Abate) S6102-A (Golden) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Creates 25-year early retirement option for fire inspectors and associate fire inspectors in NYC. | $0.39 | Increase annual employer contributions by approximately $385,000 per year. |
Pension Benefits | A8375-A (Abbate) S6683-A (Golden) | Amended on 1/17/18 (A), On Third Reading 3/21/18 (S) | Authorizes counties to include time spent in NYPD basic training in the calculation of optional 20 or 25 year retirement plan. | - | Fiscal impact should be minimal. |
Pension Benefits | A8402 (Abbate) S6435A (Flanagan) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Allows any SUNY registered nurse in the Professional, Scientific, and Technical bargaining unit, who first became employed by SUNY Stony Brook Hospital between January 1, 1996 and December 31, 1999, and who enrolled in the Optional Retirement Program, to terminate membership in the Optional Retirement Program and to be deemed a member of the NY State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS). Affected members would have to pay entire past service cost. | TBD | Cost of 16% of salary for each person who joins NYSLRS; substantial retroactive costs. |
Pension Benefits | A9776 (Abbate) S6059-A (Golden | Referred to Governmental Employees on 2/7/18 (A), Amended on 2/7/18 (S) | Provides that an NYPD lieutenant who has been a lieutenant for at least 15 years would have the same pension rights as a lieutenant commander detective squad or lieutenant special assignment. | $0.18 | Actuarial present value would increase by $1.5 million; annual costs of $175,000 beginning in FY 2021. |
Pension Benefits | A9910 (Abbate) S7704 (Golden) | Referred to Ways and Means 3/20/18 (A), Referred to Finance on 2/27/18 (S) | This bill will allow any Tier 6 member who is a uniformed court officer or peace officer employed by the Unified Court System to retire without early age reduction upon attaining 30 years of creditable service and age 55. It would also reduce the normal retirement age from 63 to 62, and lessen reductions in benefits for those who retire prior to normal retirement age. | $1.50 | Annual costs of $363,000; one-time retroactive cost of $1.12 million. |
Pension Benefits | S1457 (Avella) | Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 | Alters Tiers 5 and 6 pension provisions in relation to including all mandatory overtime pay in final average salary calculation. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Pension Benefits | S2945 (Boyle) | Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 | Requires waivers from $30,000 maximum public sector salaries for public retirees be granted for the period of time requested by the prospective employer. | $0 | No additional costs. |
Pension Benefits | S3306-B (Ritchie) | Amended on 2/28/18 | Increases COLA for members of New York's public retirement systems. | $3.30 | First year cost of $3.3 million to state, and $13.6 million to participating employers in PFRS. Increases present value of benefits by $1.03 billion. |
Pension Benefits | S3576 (Tedisco) | Referred to Civil Service and Pensions 1/3/18 | Increasesamount of money a retiree may earn in a position of public service from $30,000 to $35,000 without diminution of retirement benefits. | Minimal | The increase over the current limit is less than the increase of the consumer price index over the time that the current limit has been in place. Due to this, retirement patterns would be unaffected rendering the annual cost negligible. |
Pension Benefits | S5446A (Griffo) | Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 | Allows school district employees to obtain service credit for up to 5 years of service rendered as a teacher in a private elementary or secondary school or a private college in New York State. | TBD | Cost cannot yet be determined. |
Pension Benefits | S6100-A (Golden) | Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Exempts uniformed NYC Corrections disability retirees from the cap on private sector wages once they reach minimum retirement age. | TBD | Fiscal note does not provide a specific figure. |
Pension Benefits | S6133 (Golden) | Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Allows NYC correctional officers enrolled in the 25-year retirement plan to earn pensions in excess of 50 percent of final average salary if they serve more than 25 years. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Pension Benefits | S6139 (Golden) | Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Allows former NYC Correction officers to withdraw their pension contributions if they have less than 15 years of service. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Pension Benefits | S6234-A (Akshar) | Amended on 3/14/18 | Allows DEC officers and forest rangers, regional state park police officers, and university police officers to be eligible for a special 20-year retirement plan, which provides a benefit of 1/2 of final average salary, and an additional benefit of 1/60 of final average salary for each year of creditable service in excess of 20 years. | $40.30 | Annual increase in costs of $2.9 million; past-service cost of $37.4 million. |
Pension Benefits | S6267 (Robach) | Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 | Authorizes Monroe County to offer 25-year retirement plan for sheriff, undersheriffs, deputy sheriffs, deputy sheriff-civil, and correction officers. | $0.09 | Annual cost of $11,000. Past service credit of $75,300. |
Pension Benefits | S6505-A (Larkin) | Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 | Gives veterans who retired prior to May 21, 2016 a supplemental pension equal to the first $15,000 of single life allowance together with any COLA, multiplied by 3% per year for up to 3 years of such service credit for military service. | TBD | Cost per recipient is expected to average $12,300; however, number of recipients is unknown. |
Pension Benefits | S663 (Boyle) | Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 | Authorizes the commissioner of the DOCCS to waive the $30,000 limit on post-retirement wages. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Pension Benefits | S7134 (Ortt) | Committed to Finance on 1/16/18 | Creates a county-option early retirement plan for corrections officers and deputy sheriffs. | TBD | Fiscal impact would be dependent on local participation |
Pension Benefits | S7791 (Gallivan) | Passed Senate on 3/5/18 | Increases post-retirement salary limit for retired police officers serving as a school resources officer from $30,000 to $50,000. | TBD | Fiscal note does not provide a specific figure. |
Pension Benefits | S7979 (Sanders) | Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 3/15/18 | Grants members of the city's police force eligibility for retirement and pension based on previous service as traffic enforcement agents. | TBD | Fiscal note does not provide a specific figure. |
Pension Benefits | S8142 (Phillips) | Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 4/6/18 | Allows retirees to opt-out of the pop-up pension benefit, subject to certain requirements. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Miscellaneous | A1932 (Peoples-Stokes) | Referred to Government Employees on 1/3/18 | Allows regional transit officers who were laid off to transfer to municipal police departments. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Miscellaneous | A2668 (DenDekker) S1899 (Comrie) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Labor on 1/3/18 (S) | Prohibits mandatory overtime for individuals who have reached the cap on overtime included in the calculation of their final average salary. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Miscellaneous | A2717 (Miller MG) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 | Extends salary supplementation for mobilized military NYC employees to NYC Health + Hospitals. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Miscellaneous | A291 (Paulin) S3825 (Robach) | Referred to Local Governments on 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Local Government on 1/3/18 (S) | Increases salary of a police chief by the same amount received by the highest ranking subordinate subject to a collective bargaining agreement; only applies in departments with less than 575 sworn officers. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Miscellaneous | A3514 (Sepulveda) | Referred to Labor on 1/3/18 | Requires employers, public and private, to pay holiday premium pay on certain federal holidays. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Miscellaneous | A4421 (Colton) | Referred to Labor on 1/3/18 | Provides pay and leave benefits to state employees who are transferred to another state agency after elimination of their prior job. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Miscellaneous | A4986-A (Weprin) S5483-A (Golden) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 2/12/18 (A), Referred to Cities on 2/14/18 (S) | Affords uniformed personnel of the NYC Department of Correction and NYC Department of Sanitation the option of taking a monetary payment in lieu of terminal leave. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Miscellaneous | A5806 (Jones) S752 (Little) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, authorizes the villages of Malone, Saranac Lake, and Tupper Lake, in the county of Franklin, to employ retired state troopers as part-time village police officers. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Miscellaneous | A6233 (Abbate) S698 (Funke) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/16/18 (A), Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Requires various public transit authorities and their employees to submit all unresolvable contract negotiations to binding arbitration. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Miscellaneous | A693 (Magnarelli) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 | Extends volunteer firefighters exercise benefits to informal, but approved, activities. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Miscellaneous | A7548 (Abbate) S5866 (Golden) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Removes requirement that paraprofessionals register for the New York City Teachers Retirement System. Instead, enrollment would be automatic. | $14.70 | Annual recurring costs would be $8 million, with $6.7 million additional costs in the first year to account for accelerated enrollment. |
Miscellaneous | A7760 (Abbate) S2329 (Alcantara) | Advanced to Third Reading on 3/22/18 (A), Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Provides state and local government labor class positions with bump and retreat rights. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Miscellaneous | A7783 (Abbate) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 | Requires regional pay differentials for state employees equivalent to federal differentials. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Miscellaneous | A8006 (Abbate) S5815 (Golden) | Passed Assembly on 3/26/18 (A), Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Provides that the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority employee organization may opt into binding arbitration. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Miscellaneous | A8585 (Lentol) S6823 (Lanza) | Referred to Governmental Employees on 1/3/18 (A), Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 (S) | Extends benefits of the variable supplements fund to NYCTA police from those who retired after July 1, 1987 to those who retired after October 1, 1968. | $9.50 | Increase of Actuarial Present Value of $37.8 million, $9.5 million annual cost for 5 years is based on an assumption of amortization. |
Miscellaneous | A907 (Perry) | Referred to Government Employees on 1/3/18 | Requires courts granting injunctive relief to employers during a strike to also order temporary cost of living salary increases. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Miscellaneous | S4096 (Sanders) | Referred to Cities on 1/3/18 | Makes all NYC police officers, firefighters, housing police, transit police, correction officers, and all surviving spouses eligible for variable supplements fund, regardless of number of years of service. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Miscellaneous | S4097 (Sanders) | Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 1/3/18 | Requires all public employers to allow employees to transfer sick time to coworkers. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |
Miscellaneous | S6097B (Golden) | On Third Reading 3/21/18 | Allows correctional officers to be paid for unused vacation time, accruing up to 1 week of vacation per year for such purposes, paid at the rate of pay applicable when leaving service. | TBD | Fiscal note does not provide a specific figure. |
Miscellaneous | S7933 (Benjamin) | Referred to Civil Service and Pensions on 3/12/18 | Restores sick leave balance for former state employees employed by a community college for purposes of calculating retiree health insurance contributions. | TBD | No fiscal note provided. |