NY State Senate Bill 2025-S7917

Senate Bill S7917

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Relates to limiting participation by certain public or quasi-public organizations in the retirement system

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Civil Service And Pensions 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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 14, 2025	referred to civil service and pensions

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2025-S7917 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Civil Service And Pensions
Law Section:: Retirement and Social Security Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §31, R & SS L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S8429

2025-S7917 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to limiting participation by certain public or quasi-public organizations in the retirement system.

2025-S7917 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S7917

SPONSOR: SKOUFIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
participation by public or quasi-public organizations in the retirement
system

 
PURPOSE:

To limit participation by officers and employees of certain private
organizations in the New York State public retirement system.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends subdivision a of section 31 of the Retirement and
Social Security Law in relation to participation of certain private
organizations in the New York State pension system.

Section 2: Sets effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The NYS retirement system is one of the largest in the nation, with over
a million participants and a value of almost $160 billion. The system is
a benefit to hardworking public employees, and it is a benefit to state
and local governments in terms of attracting and retaining qualified
employees. As much as the retirement system is a benefit, it is also a
financial burden, especially to local governments.

In recent years, the NYS Legislature has acted responsibly in passing
measures to help control the cost of the state pension system, partic-
ularly for local governments. Although reform measures such as new
pension tiers have been established, there are still other problems with
the pension system that must be fixed. A prime example of this is the
state's law permitting employees of specific private organizations to
participate in the state's public retirement system.

Under current law, officers and employees of private organizations such
as The NYS Association of Counties, the NYS School Boards Association,
the Association of Towns of the State of New York, and the NYS Confer-
ence of Mayors are all eligible to participate in New York's retirement
system.

Decades ago, these organizations applied for (and were granted) this
special privilege. Consequently, the state's public retirement system
includes certain private-sector employees who enjoy a special benefit
that other similarly situated private-sector employees do not have. A
particularly troubling aspect of this arrangement is that, in some
cases, the officers and employees of these private organizations are
registered lobbyists.

Ultimately, the state pensions for these individuals increase costs for
state and local government - costs that are eventually borne by New York
residents. It is outrageous and unfair to require New York residents to
pay the costs of a public pension for private sector lobbying organiza-
tions.

Another particularly irksome aspect of this situation is that these
groups regularly lobby New York state government officials to reduce the
high costs of pensions for local governments - the very costs that their
officers and employees are contributing to through the special privilege
they are taking advantage of. The NYS Association of Counties, the NYS
Conference of Mayors, and the NYS School Boards Association have all had
pension reform on their lobbying agenda. To be sure, the NYS retirement
system is large and costs a lot of money.

Many hard-working public employees deserve a public pension, and a
pension system should be maintained for these individuals. However, the
fact that the current system provides a public pension to private-sector
lobbying organizations demands a fix. This bill does just that.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

Senate

2023: N/A

2024: Referred to Civil Service and Pensions Assembly

2023: No Assembly Same-as 2024: No Assembly Same-as

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

See Fiscal Note.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S7917 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7917
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 14, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sens. SKOUFIS, SALAZAR -- 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:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision  a of section 31 of the retirement and social
 security law, as amended by chapter 379 of the laws of 1989, is  amended
 to read as follows:
   a. Any public or quasi-public organization created wholly or partly or
 deriving  its powers by the legislature of the state and which organiza-
 tion employs persons engaged in service to the public or any state agen-
 cy as defined in section fifty-three-a of the state finance law, or  the
 New  York state association of town superintendents of highways, inc. or
 any school board association,  by  resolution  legally  adopted  by  its
 governing  body  and  approved by the comptroller, may elect to have its
 officers and employees become eligible to participate in the  retirement
 system.    Acceptance  of the officers and employees of such an employer
 for membership in the retirement system shall be optional with the comp-
 troller. If [he] THEY shall approve their participation, such  organiza-
 tion,  except  as specifically provided in this article to the contrary,
 shall thereafter be treated as a participating  employer.  Any  election
 made pursuant to this subdivision by a school board association shall be
 applicable  to  current  employees of such association.  NOTWITHSTANDING
 THE FOREGOING PROVISIONS, ANY OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE OF THE NEW YORK  STATE
 ASSOCIATION  OF  TOWN  SUPERINTENDENTS  OF  HIGHWAYS, INC., THE NEW YORK
 STATE SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION, THE NEW YORK STATE ASSOCIATION OF COUN-
 TIES, THE ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK,  THE  NEW  YORK
 CONFERENCE  OF MAYORS AND OTHER MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS, OR ANY SCHOOL BOARD
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11291-02-5

 S. 7917                             2
 
 ASSOCIATION, FIRST EMPLOYED ON OR AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE  CHAP-
 TER  OF THE LAWS OF TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE WHICH AMENDED THIS SUBDIVI-
 SION, SHALL NOT BE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE AND/OR RECEIVE SERVICE CREDIT
 IN THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM BASED ON SUCH EMPLOYMENT.
   § 2. 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.
   If this bill is enacted into law, there will be no cost to NYSLERS.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership data as of March 31, 2024 was used in measuring the  impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2024 actuari-
 al  valuation.  Distributions  and  other statistics can be found in the
 2024 Report of the Actuary and the 2024 Annual  Comprehensive  Financial
 Report.  The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the
 2024  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, 2024 New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements
 and Supplementary Information.
   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 April 22, 2025, and intended for use only  during
 the  2025  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal Note No. 2025-158. As Chief
 Actuary of the New York State and  Local  Retirement  System,  I,  Aaron
 Schottin Young, hereby certify that this analysis complies with applica-
 ble  Actuarial Standards of Practice as well as the Code of Professional
 Conduct and Qualification Standards for Actuaries Issuing Statements  of
 Actuarial  Opinion of the American Academy of Actuaries, of which I am a
 member.

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Senate Bill S7917

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Sponsored By

James Skoufis