Legislation
The general feeling from most of
the people who have closely followed the NYS Legislature
this year is that it was
a disappointing one as far as our Legislative
agenda was concerned. While there were some bills passed
that did positively affect law enforcement members
throughout the state, the bills that we were looking for
in Nassau/Suffolk did not seem to materialize.
Specifically, I will list a few key pieces on our agenda
that did not go anywhere.
1)
Retirement Incentive for State Workers –
This bill, which back in May was causing some excitement
on the job for those contemplating retirement, was to
give extra credit for Tier I employees who retired
before August. Unfortunately,
this bill was passed but did NOT include any additional
compensation for Police/Fire pension members, limiting
it to other state workers.
2)
1/40 Bill – This bill was to provide
1/40 of your FAS for every year over 20 years at
retirement, as opposed to the present 1/60.
This would allow Tier I members to max out at 30
years as opposed to the present 35 years. The bill has
stalled and it does not appear likely that it will be
passed this session.
3)
Tier II Cap extension – We have been
trying in Albany to raise the cap for Tier II members
from the present 66% after 30 years to mirror the Tier I
benefit of 75% after 35 years.
While that bill did not succeed we had been told
that partial relief might pass this year in a bill that
raised the amount of creditable years to 32, thus
increasing a Tier II employee’s maximum pension
benefit up to approximately 70%.
This bill was introduced and did pass the Senate.
It is presently in the House where we are hoping
for some movement this year before they convene for the
term. I will keep the SOA Trustees informed of this bill
if there is any movement as it is obviously an important
benefit for the many Tier II members of our union.
4)
Nassau S.O.A. Rank Order Bill regarding
Civil Service Law – This
bill ,which was introduced for us by the New York
Association of PBA’s, requested a change in Civil
Service Law in the event that there were ever demotions
caused by fiscal problems in Nassau County.
This would require that any demotions in the
Nassau County Police Department would go according to
time in rank as opposed to time on the job.
This change was requested after a poll of our
members concluded that 70% of the respondents were in
favor of requesting this change.
The bill has stalled in committees and it is
going to take a renewed push during the next session to
get it moving. I
will keep on top of this one and keep the Trustees
informed as to any progress.
5)
207c Bill – This is a very important
bill for police statewide. A problem had arisen in some
jurisdictions with municipalities not covering police
officers injured on the job if the injury was not
incurred as a result of the officer being injured
specifically performing duties related to “the
heightened risk” inherent in our profession.
This all came about from a NYS Court of Appeals
ruling that some jurisdictions have interpreted to mean
that they can put stricter limits on when they have to
pay a police officer his full salary when injured at
work as opposed to just having him receive Workman’s
Compensation Benefits.
Due to the wording in our contracts this has not
been a problem for us as of yet.
However, it is very important that we get a
definition of the rights of a Police Officer under
Section 207c of the General Municipal Law.
6)
Retiree Health Insurance Guarantee –
This bill was to guarantee that retirees would receive
the same health care coverage as full time employees
unless the County negotiated lesser coverage for current
employees. This
was a one year bill that would have to be renewed
annually by the legislature in the same fashion as
binding arbitration.
Retirees from school districts have enjoyed this
benefit since 1994.
It is stalled in both the Assembly and Senate in
committees and does not appear likely it will succeed
this year.
Next year our most important bill
will be binding arbitration, which expires July 1, 2003.
I am sure we will see another push by the County
Executives of Nassau and Suffolk to amend the law,
something police unions throughout the state will
be lobbying hard to prevent.
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