Senate Bill S5548

                                BILL NUMBER:S5548

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the administrative code of the city of
New York, in relation to the continuance of retirement allowance upon
election to public office by members of the New York fire department
pension fund

PURPOSE:  This bill will allow retired member from the Fire Department
of the City Of New York (FDNY) to serve in elected office without loss
or diminution of their retirement allowance from the City of New York.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:  Amends the administrative code of the city of
New York by adding a new section 13-341.1 allowing for the continuance
of retirement allowance upon election to office by retired members of
the FNDY.

EXISTING LAW:  Currently, retirees of FDNY may be subject to
revocation, repeal or diminishment of their pension allowances upon
election to public office.

JUSTIFICATION:  Changes to various chapters of law and to the
Administrative Code of the City of New York, have permitted active
service and retired members of the uniform service of our state to
serve in elected office without the harsh penalty faced retirees of
the FDNY.

              

Section 13-250 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York
allows for retired members of the New York City Police Department
(NYPD) to service in elected office without revocation, repeal or
diminishment of their retirement allowances. This legislation is
identical to that which covers retirees from NYPD.

Chapter 573 of 1998 - allowed for active members of FDNY to hold
elected office, providing that the Commissioner may require the member
to take a leave of absence to service in the elected position.

Chapter 579 of 2005 provides for those who retired on disability from
the New York State police and fire retirement system, who returns to
gainful employment as a public official to receive the full amount of
his or her retirement allowance. Additionally, the fiscal implications
as appended to this chapter of law and produced by the actuary of the
system deemed that the costs to the system would be negligible.

While anyone contemplating running for elective office needs to ways
to pros and cons of such an endeavor, the State should provide a level
playing field for all such candidates. The loss of a pension for some
retired public servants and not for others sends the wrong message,
particularly when these people have served the public in similar
capacities through their public careers.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New Legislation in 2013 Session

STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: Negligible

EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately