STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8465
IN SENATE
February 1, 2024
___________
Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
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
13 for membership in the retirement system shall be optional with the comp-
14 troller. If he shall approve their participation, such organization,
15 except as specifically provided in this article to the contrary, shall
16 thereafter be treated as a participating employer. Any election made
17 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
21 state school boards association, the New York state association of coun-
22 ties, the association of towns of the state of New York, the New York
23 conference of mayors and other municipal officials, or any school board
24 association, first employed on or after the effective date of the chap-
25 ter of the laws of two thousand twenty-four which amended this subdivi-
26 sion, shall not be eligible to participate and/or receive service credit
27 in the retirement system based on such employment.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13944-02-4
S. 8465 2
1 § 2. Section 609 of the retirement and social security law is amended
2 by adding a new subdivision i to read as follows:
3 i. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or any other
4 law, rule or regulation, an officer or employee of the New York state
5 association of town superintendents of highways, inc., the New York
6 state school boards association, the New York state association of coun-
7 ties, the association of towns of the state of New York, the New York
8 conference of mayors and other municipal officials, or any school board
9 association, shall not receive service credit for employment with such
10 organization on or after the effective date of this subdivision.
11 § 3. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
12 sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of
13 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
14 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in
15 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
16 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
17 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
18 the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such
19 invalid provisions had not been included herein.
20 § 4. 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 persons first
employed by the following organizations on or after the 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.
Further, this legislation would disallow future service credit
accruals for employment rendered on and after the effective date by
current members of the NYSLERS employed by such organizations. There-
fore, if enacted into law, this bill is likely to face a constitutional
challenge based upon the guarantee that a member's benefits may not be
diminished.
If this bill is enacted into law, there will be no cost to the
NYSLERS.
Summary of relevant resources:
Membership data as of March 31, 2023 was used in measuring the impact
of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2023 actuari-
al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the
2023 Report of the Actuary and the 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2023
Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and the
Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York: Audit and
Control.
The Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March 31, 2023
New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements and
Supplementary Information.
I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and meet the Quali-
fication Standards to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
S. 8465 3
This fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the viability
of the proposed change nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for
the professional judgment of an attorney.
This estimate, dated January 25, 2024, and intended for use only
during the 2024 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2024-76,
prepared by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement
System.