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Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 5
History
- Opinion referred to judiciary
- To attorney-general for opinion
- Referred to judiciary
- Opinion referred to judiciary
- To attorney-general for opinion
- Referred to judiciary
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Proposes the removal of pension and retirement benefits from persons convicted of certain felonies
In Assembly Committee · Judiciary · Sponsor Sandy Galef
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S1923
Title of bill
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing an amendment to section 7 of article 5 of the constitution, in relation to removal of pension and retirement benefits from persons convicted of certain felonies
Purpose
Provides that any elected official who is convicted of a felony offense involving their position of public trust shall forfeit their pension benefits.
Summary of provisions
Adds a new section to article 5 section 7 of the Constitution that bars any elected official convicted of a felony offense that occurred during their time in office from collecting their pension benefits earned while in such office.
Justification
At the present time, New York State does not have a policy in place that allows for the forfeiture of pension benefits of any elected official who is convicted of a felony offense committed by abusing their office.
When an elected official is sworn into office, they take an oath to uphold the Constitution and laws of New York State. This oath sets the highest standards for integrity. Violating that public trust requires criminal penalties. It also demands penalties that bar elected officials from receiving benefits after their conviction and removal from office.
Previous legislation has sought to reduce or eliminate benefits of elected officials convicted of a crime related to their employment. However, these pieces of legislation do not go far enough. It is necessary to amend the New York State Constitution as barring a pension contends with a contractual relationship and as a result those benefits cannot be reduced or impaired simply by changing the law. It is likely those proposals are unconstitutional. Therefore, amending the current State Constitution is necessary.
Legislative history
2011-12: S. 5006-A - Committed to Rules/A. 9775-A - Referred to Attorney-General for Opinion 2013-14: S. 3048 - Opinion Referred to Judiciary/ A. 6263 - Held for consideration in Governmental Employees
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
Resolved ( if the Assembly concur), that the foregoing amendment be referred to the first regular legislative session convening after the next succeeding general election of members of the assembly, and, in conformity with section 1 of article 19 of the constitution, be published for 3 months previous to the time of such election.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.