Authorizes Raymond J. Averna's Tier III status in the New York state and local employees' retirement system
Summary
This bill is a private retirement bill for Raymond J. Averna. It deems him to have become a member of the New York State and Local Employees’ Retirement System (NYSLERS) on February 25, 1978, and grants him Tier III status, notwithstanding any other law, if he files a written request with the State Comptroller within one year of the act’s effective date. The bill states that Averna was first eligible to join the public retirement system in February 1978, worked for the Queens Borough Public Library from February 1978 to December 1978, and was not given the opportunity to join with Tier III status for reasons not attributable to his own negligence.
The bill also directs that, upon retroactive membership being granted, no member contributions already made to NYSLERS will be refunded to Averna. Instead, the retirement benefit would be recalculated based on the retroactive Tier III membership date. The act takes effect immediately.
Its practical impact is limited to one individual but affects retirement-system administration and public employer finances. The bill would change Averna’s membership date and benefit tier within NYSLERS, and the fiscal note estimates increased annual employer contributions for the Town of Oyster Bay beginning in fiscal year 2027, along with a one-time past service cost borne by the Queens Borough Public Library. The bill therefore creates a retroactive pension adjustment and shifts associated costs to the public employer identified in the measure.
The general sentiment reflected in the available materials is procedural and supportive rather than contentious, but there is no recorded committee debate or vote history to show broader legislative views. The bill appears to be a narrow corrective measure intended to address an alleged past enrollment error. Because there are no transcripts or votes, there is little evidence of opposition or advocacy beyond the bill’s text and fiscal analysis.
The main point of potential contention is cost allocation and the precedent of granting retroactive pension benefits. The bill places all past service costs on the Queens Borough Public Library, while the fiscal note also identifies ongoing contribution increases for the Town of Oyster Bay, which may raise questions about which public entity should bear the financial burden. More generally, private pension correction bills can prompt concern about fairness, actuarial impact, and whether similarly situated employees might seek comparable relief.
Impact
The bill would amend the application of the New York State and Local Employees’ Retirement System rules for one named individual by retroactively establishing Tier III membership effective February 25, 1978. It does not broadly change the retirement statute for all members, but it creates a special exception to existing law and requires the Comptroller to recalculate benefits if the individual files the required request. The measure also assigns past service costs to the Queens Borough Public Library and, according to the fiscal note, increases employer contribution costs for the Town of Oyster Bay.
Sentiment
Available materials suggest the bill is a narrow, corrective retirement measure with no recorded floor debate, committee transcript, or vote history indicating strong public controversy. The tone of the bill text and fiscal note is administrative and remedial, implying support for fixing an alleged enrollment error. Because there is no recorded opposition in the provided context, the overall sentiment appears neutral to favorable, though the fiscal implications may invite scrutiny.
Contention
The most likely points of contention are the retroactive grant of enhanced pension status and the associated fiscal burden. Critics could question whether a private bill should override normal retirement-system rules for a single individual, while supporters would frame it as correcting an error not caused by the employee. Another possible issue is cost responsibility: the bill assigns past service costs to the Queens Borough Public Library, while the fiscal note says the Town of Oyster Bay’s annual contributions would also rise, creating potential disagreement over which employer should pay.