Assembly Bill A7519

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7519
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               April 1, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. FITZPATRICK, TAGUE -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of
   A.  MANKTELOW  --  read  once and referred to the Committee on Govern-
   mental Employees
 
 AN ACT to amend the civil service law, in relation to improper  employer
   practices  relating  to  the  continuation of pay, vacation and health
   care benefits; to amend the education law,  in  relation  to  eligible
   employees for retirement plans; and to amend the civil service law, in
   relation to disputed agreements
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 1  of  section  209-a  of  the
 civil  service  law,  as  amended by chapter 244 of the laws of 2007, is
 amended to read as follows:
   (e) to refuse to continue [all the] terms of an expired agreement THAT
 RELATE TO LEAVES OF ABSENCE, ACTIVE EMPLOYEES  HEALTH  INSURANCE,  HOLI-
 DAYS,  SALARIES  EXCLUDING  STEP  INCREASES,  AND  ALL  OTHER  MANDATORY
 SUBJECTS OF A BARGAINING AGREEMENT AS DEFINED BY THE  PUBLIC  EMPLOYMENT
 RELATIONS  BOARD  CASE  LAW PRIOR TO ITS CONVERSION DOCTRINE until a new
 agreement is negotiated, unless the employee  organization  which  is  a
 party  to  such agreement has, during such negotiations or prior to such
 resolution of such negotiations, engaged in conduct violative of  subdi-
 vision one of section two hundred ten of this article;
   §  2. Subdivision 3-a of section 390 of the education law, as added by
 chapter 18 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
   3-a. (A) Beginning July first, two thousand thirteen, the term  eligi-
 ble  employees  shall  also  mean any person excluded from or not encom-
 passed within a negotiating unit within the meaning of article  fourteen
 of  the  civil  service law who would otherwise be entitled to receive a
 benefit under the retirement and social security law  or  the  education
 law  initially  hired on or after July first, two thousand thirteen with
 estimated annual wages of seventy-five thousand per  annum  or  greater.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08999-02-5
              

 A. 7519                             2
 
 Such  estimate of annual wages to determine eligibility for the purposes
 of this subdivision shall be provided by the employer. For the  purposes
 of  this  subdivision,  a  newly  hired  state  employee whose immediate
 preceding employment was with another department, division, or agency of
 the state shall not be deemed to be an eligible employee.
   (B)  BEGINNING JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-SIX, THE TERM ELIGI-
 BLE EMPLOYEES SHALL ALSO MEAN ANY PERSON WHO WOULD OTHERWISE BE ENTITLED
 TO RECEIVE A BENEFIT UNDER THE RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL SECURITY LAW OR THE
 EDUCATION LAW INITIALLY HIRED ON OR AFTER JANUARY  FIRST,  TWO  THOUSAND
 TWENTY-SIX  WHO  WOULD  OTHERWISE  BE ELIGIBLE FOR MEMBERSHIP IN THE NEW
 YORK STATE AND LOCAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM OR THE NEW YORK  STATE
 TEACHERS'  RETIREMENT SYSTEM. FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS PARAGRAPH, A NEWLY
 HIRED STATE EMPLOYEE WHOSE PRIOR EMPLOYMENT, IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING  SUCH
 STATE  EMPLOYMENT,  WAS  WITH ANOTHER DEPARTMENT, DIVISION, OR AGENCY OF
 THE STATE SHALL NOT BE DEEMED TO BE AN ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE.
   § 3. Section 209 of the civil service law is amended by adding  a  new
 subdivision 7 to read as follows:
   7.    NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, FOR
 ANY DISPUTE THAT IS SUBJECT TO  THE  PROVISIONS  OF  THIS  SECTION,  THE
 DETERMINATION  OF  THE  PUBLIC ARBITRATION PANEL ON A DISPUTED AGREEMENT
 SHALL NOT CONTAIN AN INCREASE IN ALL COMPENSATION ITEMS SUBJECT TO NEGO-
 TIATION WHICH IS GREATER THAN TWO PERCENT  MORE  THAN  ALL  COMPENSATION
 ITEMS  SUBJECT  TO  NEGOTIATION RECEIVED BY THE EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATION IN
 THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE PUBLIC EMPLOYER AND THE EMPLOYEE  ORGANIZATION
 IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE AGREEMENT BEING ARBITRATED.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill would amend Section 390 of the Education Law to broaden the
 definition of the term "eligible employees" as it applies to eligibility
 to join the State University of New  York  Optional  Retirement  Program
 (ORP),  otherwise  known  as  the Voluntary Defined Contribution Program
 (VDC). The definition would be expanded to include any person  initially
 hired  on  or  after January 1, 2026 who would otherwise be eligible for
 membership in the New York State Teachers' Retirement System (NYSTRS) or
 the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS). Currently  only
 new  employees  with an annual salary of $75,000 or more and who are not
 represented by a collective bargaining unit must choose between  joining
 the  public  retirement  system (NYSTRS, NYSLRS) or the ORP/VDC. A newly
 hired state employee whose prior employment, immediately preceding  such
 state  employment,  was  with another department, division, or agency of
 the state shall not be deemed to be an eligible employee.
   It is not possible to determine the total annual cost to the employers
 of members of the New York State Teachers' Retirement System  since  the
 number  of  newly hired employees who would choose to participate in the
 ORP/VDC each year cannot be estimated. This bill represents a  fundamen-
 tal  change  in  the  structure  of public retirement benefits and would
 substantially impact their funding. The number of new  entrants  to  the
 System could potentially decline each year if some newly hired employees
 opt  to  participate  in the ORP/VDC. The System's outstanding liability
 under the defined benefit plan is funded over the average future remain-
 ing working lifetime of its members. Thus, if the System  experiences  a
 large  decline  in  the  number  of new entrants each year, this funding
 period would decrease, resulting  in  potentially  increasing  costs  to
 employers. It is strongly recommended that a full actuarial analysis and
 report  be  completed  to gauge all the potential costs and implications
 A. 7519                             3
 
 fully and more quantitatively before a structural change of this  magni-
 tude is undertaken.
   Member data is from the System's most recent actuarial valuation files
 as of June 30, 2024, consisting of data provided by the employers to the
 Retirement System. The most recent data distributions and statistics can
 be  found  in  the System's Annual Report for fiscal year ended June 30,
 2024. System assets are as reported in the System's financial statements
 and can also be found in the System's Annual Report.  Actuarial  assump-
 tions  and  methods will be provided in the System's Actuarial Valuation
 Report as of June 30, 2024.
   The source of this estimate is Fiscal Note  2025-10  dated  March  21,
 2025  prepared by the Office of the Actuary of the New York State Teach-
 ers' Retirement System and is intended for  use  only  during  the  2025
 Legislative  Session.  I, Richard A. Young, am the Chief Actuary for the
 New York State Teachers' Retirement System. I am a member of the  Ameri-
 can  Academy  of Actuaries and I meet the Qualification Standards of the
 American Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion  contained
 herein.