STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7917--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 14, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sens. SKOUFIS, SALAZAR -- read twice and ordered printed,
and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and
Pensions -- recommitted to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
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 for
13 membership in the retirement system shall be optional with the comp-
14 troller. If [he] they shall approve their participation, such organiza-
15 tion, except as specifically provided in this article to the contrary,
16 shall thereafter be treated as a participating employer. Any election
17 made 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
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11291-04-6
S. 7917--A 2
1 state school boards association, the New York state association of coun-
2 ties, the association of towns of the state of New York, the New York
3 conference of mayors and other municipal officials, or any school board
4 association, first employed on or after the effective date of the chap-
5 ter of the laws of two thousand twenty-six which amended this subdivi-
6 sion, shall not be eligible to participate and/or receive service credit
7 in the retirement system based on such employment.
8 § 2. 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 (NYSLERS) to people first
employed by the following organizations on or after the bill's effective
date:
1. The New York State Association of Town Superintendents of Highways,
Inc.,
2. The New York State School Boards Association,
3. The New York State Association of Counties,
4. The Association of Towns of the State of New York,
5. The New York Conference of Mayors and Other Municipal Officials,
and
6. any school board association.
If this bill is enacted into law, there will be no cost to NYSLERS.
Summary of relevant resources:
Membership data as of March 31, 2025 was used to measure the impact of
the bill, the same data used in the Actuarial Valuations dated April 1,
2025. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2025 Report
of the Actuary and the 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. The
actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2025 Annual
Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and the Codes, Rules
and Regulations of the State of New York: Audit and Control. The fair
value of assets and GASB disclosures can be found in the 2025 Financial
Statements and Supplementary Information.
Assumptions, demographics, and other considerations may have been
modified to better reflect specific provisions of any proposed benefit
change(s).
This fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the viability
of the bill, nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for the profes-
sional judgment of an attorney.
This estimate, dated February 26, 2026, and intended for use only
during the 2026 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note Number 2026-95. As
Chief Actuary of the New York State and Local Retirement System
(NYSLRS), I, Aaron Schottin Young, hereby certify that this analysis
complies with applicable Actuarial Standards of Practice as well as the
Code of Professional Conduct and Qualification Standards for Actuaries
Issuing Statements of Actuarial Opinion of the American Academy of Actu-
aries, of which I am a member. I am a member of NYSLRS but do not
believe it impairs my objectivity.
