NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A4747
SPONSOR: Pretlow TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the civil service law, in relation to authorizing past
or retired school board members to purchase state health insurance after
ten years
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends subdivisions 2 and 4 of section 163 of the
Civil Service Law to authorize the inclusion in the state health insur-
ance plan of school board members who have served ten years.
Section 2 makes the bill take effect immediately.
JUSTIFICATION:
School board members are not paid for their public service. At times,
they are under tremendous scrutiny. This bill would make the job of
school board member more attractive to a larger segment of the popu-
lation by attaching a benefit to the position. It is important that
talented people run in school board elections. Adding this one benefit
will make sitting on the school board a more desired position, and it
will not incur costs for the school district or local government because
the insured will pay the administrative costs and premiums. This in turn
will lead to more qualified people running for the school board and help
ensure that the public has a better choice of candidates.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-2022 A1811 referred to governmental employees
2019-2020 A4116 referred to governmental employees
2017-2018 A804 referred to governmental employees
2015-2016 A2213 referred to governmental employees
2013-14 A3923 held for consideration in governmental employees.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None. School board members would pay the administrative costs of the
plan.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4747
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 23, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the civil service law, in relation to authorizing past
or retired school board members to purchase state health insurance
after ten years
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivisions 2 and 4 of section 163 of the civil service
2 law, subdivision 2 as amended by section 4 of part T of chapter 56 of
3 the laws of 2010 and subdivision 4 as amended by chapter 329 of the laws
4 of 1960, are amended to read as follows:
5 2. The contract or contracts shall provide for health benefits for
6 retired employees of the state and of the state colleges of agriculture,
7 home economics, industrial labor relations and veterinary medicine, the
8 state agricultural experiment station at Geneva, and any other institu-
9 tion or agency under the management and control of Cornell university as
10 the representative of the board of trustees of the state university of
11 New York, and the state college of ceramics under the management and
12 control of Alfred university as the representative of the board of trus-
13 tees of the state university of New York, and their spouses and depend-
14 ent children as defined by the regulations of the president, on such
15 terms as the president may deem appropriate, and the president may
16 authorize the inclusion in the plan of the employees and retired employ-
17 ees of public authorities, public benefit corporations, school
18 districts, school board members who have served for ten years, special
19 districts, district corporations, municipal corporations excluding
20 active employees and retired employees of cities having a population of
21 one million or more inhabitants whose compensation is or was before
22 retirement paid out of the city treasury, or other appropriate agencies,
23 subdivisions or quasi-public organizations of the state, including
24 active members of volunteer fire and volunteer ambulance companies serv-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09483-01-3
A. 4747 2
1 ing one or more municipal corporations pursuant to subdivision seven of
2 section ninety-two-a of the general municipal law, and their spouses and
3 dependent children as defined by the regulations of the president. Any
4 such corporation, district, school board member, agency or organization
5 electing to participate in the plan shall be required to pay its or his
6 or her proportionate share of the expenses of administration of the plan
7 in such amounts and at such times as determined and fixed by the presi-
8 dent. All amounts payable for such expenses of administration shall be
9 paid to the commissioner of taxation and finance and shall be applied to
10 the reimbursement of funds previously advanced for such purposes.
11 Neither the state nor any other participant in the plan shall be charged
12 with the particular experience attributable to the employees of the
13 participant, and all dividends or retroactive rate credits shall be
14 distributed pro-rata based upon the number of employees of such partic-
15 ipant covered by the plan.
16 4. Any public authority, public benefit corporation, school district,
17 school board, special district, district corporation, municipal corpo-
18 ration, or other agency, subdivision or quasi-public organization of the
19 state, whose employees and retired employees are authorized to be
20 included in the plan as provided by subdivision two of this section, may
21 elect to participate in such plan. Any such election shall be exercised
22 by the adoption of a resolution by its governing body and, in the case
23 of any municipal corporation where a resolution of its governing body is
24 required by law to be approved by any other body or officer, such resol-
25 ution shall also be approved by such other body or officer. Any such
26 election may be made with respect to inclusion in the plan of both its
27 employees and its retired employees at the same time, or may be made
28 only with respect to its employees alone and at another time with
29 respect to its retired employees. Any such authority, corporation,
30 district, board, agency, subdivision or organization making such
31 election shall become a participating employer under such plan, subject
32 to and in accordance with the regulations of the president relating
33 thereto.
34 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
