NY State Senate Bill 2015-S1923

Senate Bill S1923

2015-2016 Legislative Session

Proposes the removal of pension and retirement benefits from persons convicted of certain felonies

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Judiciary Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Apr 06, 2016	opinion referred to judiciary
Mar 14, 2016	to attorney-general for opinion
Jan 06, 2016	referred to judiciary
Feb 23, 2015	opinion referred to judiciary
Jan 26, 2015	to attorney-general for opinion
Jan 15, 2015	referred to judiciary

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2015-S1923 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A5884
Current Committee:: Senate Judiciary
Law Section:: Constitution, Concurrent Resolutions to Amend
Laws Affected:: Amd Art 5 §7, Constn
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2011-2012: S5006, A9775
2013-2014: S3048, A6263
2017-2018: S3147, A3316

2015-S1923 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Proposes the removal of pension and retirement benefits from persons convicted of certain felonies.

2015-S1923 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S1923

TITLE OF BILL:  CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY
proposing an amendment to section 7 of article 5 of the constitution,
in relation to removal of pension and retirement benefits from persons
convicted of certain felonies

PURPOSE:

Provides that any elected official who is convicted of a felony
offense involving their position of public trust shall forfeit their
pension benefits.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Adds a new section to article 5 section 7 of the Constitution that
bars any elected official convicted of a felony offense that occurred
during their time in office from collecting their pension benefits
earned while in such office.

JUSTIFICATION:

At the present time, New York State does not have a policy in place
that allows for the forfeiture of pension benefits of any elected
official who is convicted of a felony offense committed by abusing
their office.

When an elected official is sworn into office, they take an oath to
uphold the Constitution and laws of New York State. This oath sets the
highest standards for integrity. Violating that public trust requires
criminal penalties. It also demands penalties that bar elected
officials from receiving benefits after their conviction and removal
from office.

Previous legislation has sought to reduce or eliminate benefits of
elected officials convicted of a crime related to their employment.
However, these pieces of legislation do not go far enough. It is
necessary to amend the New York State Constitution as barring a
pension contends with a contractual relationship and as a result those
benefits cannot be reduced or impaired simply by changing the law. It
is likely those proposals are unconstitutional. Therefore, amending
the current State Constitution is necessary.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2011-12: S. 5006-A - Committed to Rules/A. 9775-A - Referred to
Attorney-General for Opinion
2013-14: S. 3048 - Opinion Referred to Judiciary/ A. 6263 - Held for
consideration in Governmental Employees

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:


Resolved ( if the Assembly concur), that the foregoing amendment be
referred to the first regular legislative session convening after the
next succeeding general election of members of the assembly, and, in
conformity with section 1 of article 19 of the constitution, be
published for 3 months previous to the time of such election.

2015-S1923 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  1923

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            January 15, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  MARCELLINO  -- read twice and ordered printed, and
  when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary

            CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY

proposing an amendment to section 7 of article 5 of the constitution, in
  relation to removal of pension and retirement  benefits  from  persons
  convicted of certain felonies

  Section 1.  Resolved (if the Assembly concur), That section 7 of arti-
cle 5 of the constitution be amended to read as follows:
  S  7.  After  July  first,  nineteen  hundred forty, membership in any
pension or retirement system of the state or of a civil division thereof
shall be a contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not  be
diminished or impaired. ANY ELECTED OFFICIAL WHO IS CONVICTED OF A FELO-
NY OFFENSE AGAINST PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION THAT OCCURRED DURING THEIR TIME
IN  OFFICE  SHALL  FORFEIT RIGHTS TO THEIR BENEFITS EARNED WHILE IN SUCH
OFFICE.
  S 2. Resolved (if the Assembly concur), That the  foregoing  amendment
be referred to the first regular legislative session convening after the
next  succeeding  general  election  of members of the assembly, and, in
conformity with  section  1  of  article  19  of  the  constitution,  be
published for 3 months previous to the time of such election.





 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD89006-01-5

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