Senate Bill S4987

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Requires approval by a two-thirds vote of the state senate for certain salary increases of certain state officers

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance 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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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 14, 2025	referred to finance

2025-S4987 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Finance
Law Section:: Executive Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §169, Exec L

2025-S4987 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires approval by a two-thirds vote of the state senate for certain salary increases of certain state officers that would result in a salary above the governor's salary.

2025-S4987 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S4987

SPONSOR: ASHBY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the executive law, in relation to requiring approval by
a two-thirds vote of the state senate for certain salary increases of
certain state officers

 
PURPOSE:

To require two-thirds Senate approval for pay raises that result in
salaries larger than the governor's.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends current law section 169 of the executive law to state
when certain state officers pay raises result in a base salary larger
than the Governor's, that such a pay raise cannot proceed until two-
thirds of the state Senate approves.

This section of law includes all the commissioners of all state agen-

cies. The exhaustive list- as stated in section 169- includes commis-
sioners of correction, commissioner of health, commissioner of educa-
tion, commissioner of economic development and many more.

Section 2 further amends section 169 of the executive law by stating
that any pay increase for a chancellor and/or president of SUNY or CUNY
results in a salary larger than the governor's that the board of trus-
tees cannot proceed with the pay raise until two-thirds of the state
Senate approves.

Section 3 sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The governor is responsible for overseeing 140,000 employees, guiding
executive branch agencies which administer all state governmental func-
tions and, critically, the safety and wellbeing of over 19 million New
Yorkers. There should be an excellent reason to pay a department commis-
sioner or director more than the governor. Given the outrageously exces-
sive compensation provided for some commissioners by their boards, it is
clear that additional oversight and checks and balances are required.
This legislation would require that, when any proposed pay raise for
such state officers, including the SUNY chancellor and State Education
Department Commissioner, results in a base salary larger than the Gover-
nor's, that such a pay raise cannot proceed until two-thirds of the
state Senate approves.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
April 1, 2025.

2025-S4987 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4987
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 14, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  ASHBY  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
 
 AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to requiring approval  by
   a  two-thirds vote of the state senate for certain salary increases of
   certain state officers

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision  2  of  section  169  of the executive law is
 amended by adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows:
   (C) NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION, IF ANY SALARY INCREASE FOR  A
 STATE  OFFICER  INDICATED  UNDER  SUBDIVISION  ONE OF THIS SECTION SHALL
 RESULT IN A SALARY ABOVE THE GOVERNOR'S  SALARY,  SUCH  SALARY  INCREASE
 SHALL REQUIRE APPROVAL BY A TWO-THIRDS VOTE OF THE STATE SENATE.
   §  2.  Subdivision  3 of section 169 of the executive law, as added by
 chapter 263 of the laws of 1987, is amended to read as follows:
   3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section  or  any  other
 provision  of law, the boards of trustees of the state university of New
 York and the city university of New York shall each establish and imple-
 ment salary plans for the chancellors, presidents and senior  staffs  of
 such  state  and  city  universities, respectively. The board of regents
 shall establish and implement a separate salary plan for  the  president
 of  the  university  of the state of New York, setting forth the compen-
 sation to be received by the president for performing the duties of that
 office assigned by the rules of the regents or statute, which  shall  be
 in  addition to the compensation received by such person pursuant to the
 provisions of subdivisions one and two of this  section.    Such  salary
 plans  shall  be developed after consultation with the governor's office
 of employee relations and the division of the budget.    IF  ANY  SALARY
 INCREASE  FOR  A  CHANCELLOR AND/OR PRESIDENT OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF
 NEW YORK OR CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK SHALL RESULT IN A  SALARY  ABOVE
 THE  GOVERNOR'S  SALARY,  THE  BOARDS  OF TRUSTEES OF SUCH STATE OR CITY
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09727-01-5

 S. 4987                             2
 
 UNIVERSITY, RESPECTIVELY, SHALL NOT APPROVE SUCH SALARY INCREASE  UNLESS
 SUCH  SALARY  INCREASE  RECEIVES  A  TWO-THIRDS  APPROVAL FROM THE STATE
 SENATE; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT SUCH APPROVAL SHALL NOT BE REQUIRED  FOR
 SENIOR STAFFS OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK OR THE CITY UNIVERSITY
 OF NEW YORK. Any increase in compensation for the positions set forth in
 this  subdivision, not otherwise funded from any appropriation, shall be
 funded from reallocations of funds  within  the  appropriations  specif-
 ically  identified  by the aforementioned boards. Each board of trustees
 and the board of regents shall file a proposed salary plan  report  with
 the  chairs  of  the  senate finance committee and the assembly ways and
 means committee and the director of the budget at least sixty days prior
 to the effective date of such salary plan. Each salary plan report shall
 set forth the salary schedule, the dollar  value  of  additional  public
 compensation  and  other  employment  benefits that such positions would
 receive, the specific sources of funding to be  reallocated  for  salary
 increases,  the  amount of increase to be provided to each position, the
 comparison salary data on which the plan is based, and such other infor-
 mation as the boards of trustees and the board of regents deem appropri-
 ate.
   § 3. This act shall take effect April 1, 2025.

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Senate Bill S4987

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance Committee

Actions

2025-S4987 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S4987 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S4987 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S4987 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Jacob Ashby

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance Committee

Actions

2025-S4987 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S4987 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S4987 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S4987 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments