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| 2006
Legislative Update Bills of Interest that have passed both houses of the Legislature update: Sept. 19, 2006 A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT
The 2006 Legislative session was a very successful one for us. We were presented with tremendous challenges and great opportunities and we made the most of those opportunities while meeting the challenges head on. We not only achieved the highest level of funding for public education ever, we fought back many potentially devastating attacks. Of the many legislative accomplishments achieved this year I am particularly pleased that we secured the largest, $1.268 billion, one-year school aid increase ever. All of our teacher programs were maintained along with an expansion of the Teacher Centers program. Also, we achieved the largest funding increase for higher education that we have seen in a generation, $365 million and an additional $1 billion in capital funding and tens of millions of dollars for needed full time faculty. NYSUT lobbied the legislature to pass historic, landmark retirement equity legislation. At NYSUT's urging, the legislature passed legislation to provide pension equity for our members at SUNY, CUNY and the Community Colleges who are participants in the Optional Retirement Program (ORP). Unlike members in NYSTRS, NYCTRS and NYSLERS whose mandatory 3% contributions ceased after 10 years of service beginning in 2000, our members who are participants in the ORP are still required to pay the mandatory 3% member contribution for their pensions. If signed by the Governor, the legislation that has passed both houses would phase-in the elimination of the 3% member contribution over a three year period beginning in 2007. NYSUT, in conjunction with the AFL-CIO Pension Task Force, also won approval in the Senate and Assembly for a two-year, temporary age 55/25 year early retirement incentive program. If enacted, this legislation would provide all members in Tiers II, III and IV who are age 55 or older with 25 or more years of service with the option to retire without penalty provided such members retire between June 3, 2006 and August 31, 2006 and June 1, 2007 and August 31, 2007. This year's session was a difficult one in which we effectively defeated several Executive proposals that would have crippled public schools. We successfully battled relentless attempts to impose a backdoor private school voucher program that would have diverted hundreds of millions of dollars that are critically needed in the public schools. We also defeated similar attempts, for now, to increase the Charter School program without the necessary reforms; an attempt to bribe taxpayers into approving restrictive school budget caps, and an ill-advised single day, no revote budget process. Our work is not over however. The Governor has yet to act on legislation that we worked so hard to achieve, elections that will have a critical impact on us are approaching and, it is very likely that attempts to expand charter schools will persist and we must be prepared. Let's continue to work together to build on our successes. 2006 Legislative Update The 2006 Legislative session ended Friday, June 23. Here is a list of NYSUT’s program bills and other bills of interest.
RETIREMENT AND RETIREE ISSUES
Applicable to All Public Retirement Systems
VETO MEMO 226 - 7/19/06 S-8408/Robach Establishes a two-year, temporary age 55/25 year early retirement incentive program for public employees in Tiers II, III and IV. This legislation would allow members who are age 55 and have at least 25 years of service to retire with full benefits.
Applicable to NYSTRS and NYCTRS
VETO MEMO 398 - 9/13/06 S-7589/Robach Provides that teachers in Tiers II, III and IV shall be able to retire upon the completion of 35 years of service regardless of age.
VETO MEMO 408 - 9/13/06 S-7977/Marcellino Allows members in the NYSTRS, who were members in the NYCTRS and laid off by the City on or after 1975, the ability to purchase credit for up to two years of such layoff period; and reopens Chapter 479 of the Laws of 2001 to enable any member of the NYCTRS who failed to make timely application, the ability to file for such credit at this time.
Applicable to NYSTRS
SIGNED - 09/13/06 S-6907/Robach Allows members in NYSTRS to obtain service credit for service rendered in another system that was not timely transferred upon rejoining NYSTRS.
Applicable to NYCTRS and/or NYCBERS
VETO MEMO 339 - 8/16/06 S-6719-B/Padavan Provides tier improvement benefits for certain NYC paraprofessionals who were precluded from joining a public retirement system upon initiating public employment.
SIGNED - 09/13/06 S-7923/Golden Reduces from 60 days to 30 days the statutorily established time for participants to elect participation in or to initiate changes to their Tax Deferred Annuity (TDA) plans.
VETO MEMO 267 - 7/26/06 S-7924/Golden Allows CTRS retirees to authorize automatic pension deduction agreements to repay outstanding TDA loan balances in the same manner that is currently afforded for voluntary contributions to VOTE/COPE as well as certain other member benefit programs.
Applicable to Optional Retirement Plan (ORP)
VETO MEMO 344 - 8/16/06 S-7389-A/Robach Provides for the three year phase-in of the employer pick-up of the 3% mandatory employee contribution to the Optional Retirement Program (ORP) beginning on April 1, 2007.
Applicable to Retiree Benefits
SIGNED - 04/18/06 S-6379 /Farley Prohibits the unilateral diminution of health insurance benefits for retired school district employees until May 15, 2007 (Extended annually since Chapter 729 of 1994).
SIGNED - 06/07/06 S-3593-A /Leibell Increases from $27.5k to $30k the amount retired public employees can earn per calendar year upon returning to public service without a diminution of retirement benefits. K-12
VETO MEMO 348 - 8/16/06 S-7501/Saland This legislation amends the Education Law to include "other specified personnel" under provisions of law that protects the rights of certain specified school district personnel when a school district takes over a program formerly operated by a Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) and vice versa. "Other specified personnel" is defined in this bill as any person certified to the state Civil Service Commission by the Commissioner pursuant to section 35(g) of the Civil Service Law providing instructional, ancillary or supportive educational services and any licensed health professional who is principally engaged in providing health services.
VETO MEMO 279 - 7/26/06 S-5114-A/Spano This legislation provides a more flexible and reliable funding mechanism for Special Act and 853 schools by creating a three-year tuition rate setting methodology. Furthermore, this legislation would allow schools under this methodology to maintain a fund balance of up to two percent of that year's allowable and reimbursable costs, to the extent that tuition revenues exceed allowable and reimbursable costs.
SIGNED - 7/26/06 S-8355/Saland This Legislation enacts temporary transitional legislation to implement the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004. Furthermore, it continues the practice of ensuring that teachers and other staff members are included in all team meetings regarding a child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP), prevents any changes to the child’s IEP unless it is done within the boundaries of the IEP meeting, and prevents the waiving of the triennial child assessment.
VETO MEMO 286 - 7/26/06 S-8354/Rules This bill puts in statute what has been New York State practice since the inception of special education by establishing that the board of education or trustees of the school district or the state agency responsible for providing education to students with disabilities shall have the burden of proof, including the burden of persuasion and burden of production, in an impartial hearing in appeals challenging an Individualized Education Program (IEP).
VETO MEMO 220 - 7/5/06 S-6383/Saland This bill raises the allowable amount of surplus funds a school district can retain from two percent to three percent in fiscal year 2006-07, and to four percent in fiscal year 2007-08.
S-6629-A/Spano This legislation establishes minimum standards of wages, pensions and health insurance coverage for workers in various facilities that provide care to the mentally retarded and developmentally disabled.
SIGNED - 07/05/06 S-5816/Balboni This legislation provides protection from civil liability or retaliatory actions against school district employees who, with reasonable cause to suspect illegal or inappropriate financial practices by an employee or officer of the school district, report such information.
VETO MEMO 2 - 03/07/06 S-2731-A/Saland This bill would allow school districts to exclude expenditures for increases in fuel costs over the prior year in calculating total spending increases permitted in a contingency budget. HIGHER EDUCATION
VETO MEMO 344 - 8/16/06 S-7389/Robach This legislation amends the Education Law to provide for a three-year phase-in of the employer pick-up of the three percent member contributions to the Optional Retirement Program (ORP) for members with ten or more years of membership in such program.
SIGNED 6/30/06 S-8381/Padavan This legislation amends the Education Law to provide an appropriation for the implementation of the terms of the 2002-2007 collective bargaining agreement between the Professional Staff Congress and the City University of New York.
SIGNED - 06/07/06 S-6441/Spano Requires public employers to develop and implement programs to prevent workplace violence. States that public employers with at least 20 full time permanent employees must evaluate the potential risks of workplace violence that exist within their workplaces. Public employers must also develop and implement a written workplace violence prevention program to prevent and minimize the hazard of workplace violence to their employees.
VETO MEMO 218 - 06/21/06 S-6397/ Farley Prohibits the unilateral diminution of health insurance benefits for retired public employees until May 15, 2007. PSYCHOLOGISTS
VETO MEMO 324 - 8/16/06 S-2207-C/Nozzolio This legislation bans solitary confinement in special housing units for prison inmates with severe mental illness and establishes residential mental health treatment programs for these inmates for their psychiatric disorders in a safe and appropriate environment.
It is anticipated that this legislation will pass both houses inSeptember. TAYLOR LAW
VETO MEMO 313 - 8/16/06 S-7842/Robach This legislation addresses the issue of injunctive relief as it clarifies and modifies the standards governing the issuance of injunctive relief incidental to improper practice charges filed with the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) and with the New York City Office of Collective Bargaining (OCB). Presently; employees have criticized the filing process for injunctive relief as being confusing and contradictory. The changes proposed in this bill will eliminate the confusion associated with the current statutory language that incorporates several standards and ensure that the standard for injunctive relief matches the reason for the availability of the relief. The bill would also eliminate the automatic stay of enforcement that attaches under CPLR 5519 whenever the public employer appeals from a judgment or order granting injunctive relief.
VETO MEMO 285 - 7/26/06 S-7903/Spano This legislation allows a person represented by a certified or recognized collective bargaining organization to a hearing upon such charges to be conducted by an independent hearing officer which shall be agreed to by the employer and the person against whom disciplinary action is proposed. If the parties are unable to agree upon a hearing officer, he or she shall be selected from a list of seven names to be provided by the Public Employee Relations Board. The Public Employee Relations Board shall select the hearing officer by alternately striking names from the list of seven. The hearing officer shall be vested with all powers of the appointing authority, shall conduct and make a record of a hearing, and shall render a final decision.
VETO MEMO 366 - 9/13/06 S-4295/Robach This legislation requires that members selected to serve on PERB shall have served in a neutral capacity for not less than three years prior to appointment to the Board. The purpose of this legislation is to continue the tradition of fully and fairly balancing the interests of labor and management parties in the public sector, and to assure that the reputation of the agency as an outstanding arbiter of labor relations issues continues, this bill will codify the standards of neutrality historically applicable to Board appointments.
VETO MEMO 292 - 8/16/06 S-3178 Abbate This legislation establishes procedures for determining whether an employer has failed to bargain in good faith. If the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) determines that such a failure exists and the collective bargaining agreement has expired, PERB is to order an immediate salary increase of 1%. A mediator is also appointed who reports to PERB every three months on any progress of the collective bargaining process. If the employer continues not to bargain in good faith, an additional .5% increase is imposed every three months. However, these penalty wage payments cannot be used as offsets in subsequent bargaining negotiations. In addition, the legislation states that the penalty for an alleged employee violation, which occurs during a period when PERB has found the employer has failed to bargain in good faith, will be the loss of no more than the daily rate of pay for each day or part of that day. There will be no loss of dues check-off or of Triborough rights for any such period. HEALTH CARE
SIGNED- 07/26/06 S-6326-A/Spano This legislation prohibits a person from using the title of nurse, or any other title or abbreviation that would represent to the public that the person is authorized to practice nursing, unless the person is licensed or otherwise authorized under the provisions of the Education Law.
S-7989/DeFrancisco This legislation mandates that prior to cancellation of any policy or accident and health insurance held by a person sixty-five years of age or older, notice of such impending cancellation must be given, in writing to a third party. A third party may be a competent adult child, competent sibling under the age of sixty-five, a competent grandchild, niece or nephew 18 years of age or older, or a person whose name and address the subscriber has provided for the insurance company.
Restored $1 billion in Medicaid reimbursements to hospitals and nursing homes: Governor Pataki’s January 2006–07 Executive Budget called for $1.3 billion in cuts to critically important health care funding, including severe Medicaid reimbursement cuts to hospitals, including $36 million for graduate medical education. Successfully fought against the privatization of SUNY Hospitals, thereby blocking thousands of layoffs. K-12 END OF SESSION KILL BILLS
Passed Senate S-7045-A/Meier This legislation would have added Teachers, School Nurses, Guidance Counselors, and School Social Workers to the list of mandated reporters of suspected child abuse. Such reports would have been required by every individual on every occasion of suspicion before consultation with any school official, who currently is the mandated reporter in the school setting, about this suspicion. Failure to report would make staff civilly liable for damages, and there is currently introduced legislation that would make such case a Class A Misdemeanor.
Passed Senate S-2893-C/Spano This legislation would have authorized contractors to sue public entities, including school districts, for damages resulting from any delays in construction projects. This would have lead to the vulnerability of post construction completion lawsuits against school districts, making the school construction process more litigious and would have lead to increased costs for completing construction projects.
This bill would dramatically increase the number of charter schools across the state without addressing the serious flaws of the 1998 Charter School law. Included among these flaws is the diversion of millions of dollars from public school districts, which can result in cuts to vital public school resources and staff. In response to the Governor’s proposals and the flaws contained within the 1998 Charter School Law, NYSUT drafted legislation that establishes meaningful omnibus charter school reform. Such reform includes:
During the close of the 2006 legislative session, NYSUT’s Legislative Department was able to lobby Senate and Assembly legislators against supporting the Governor’s charter school proposals. NYSUT also provided support for its allies in the Assembly, who were under political attack for their views on education, by a wealthy group called Parents for Public Charter Schools. The Charter School issue continues to be a threat to the public school system and our membership and we must, therefore, remain extremely vigilant on this issue. |
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