New York Senate Bill S09070

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/28/26
• Refer: 1/28/26
• Report Pass: 2/10/26

Caption

Grants members of the city of New York's police force eligibility for retirement and pension based on previous service as traffic enforcement agents.

Summary

This bill would amend the New York City Administrative Code to allow certain current members of the New York City Police Department to count prior service as traffic enforcement agents as police service for retirement and pension purposes. The bill applies to officers who were appointed to the traffic enforcement agent title before July 1, 2009 and who later became members of the NYPD uniformed force, whether by transfer or competitive examination and appointment. Under the bill, qualifying prior traffic enforcement service would be credited toward police retirement eligibility and benefit calculations, but only if the member pays into the retirement fund the amount they would have contributed had they been in the police force from the start of that service. The bill also expressly allows these members to buy back that service credit and states that the new provisions would override contrary transfer restrictions in the civil service law or related civil service rules.

Impact

The bill would create a new section 13-633 in the New York City Administrative Code and would affect the calculation of benefits under the city and state retirement systems applicable to NYPD members. It would treat qualifying traffic enforcement service as police service for pension purposes, potentially increasing retirement eligibility and benefit amounts for a defined group of current officers, while also requiring employee contributions to purchase that credit. The fiscal note indicates the measure would increase New York City employer pension contributions in the near term and increase the actuarial unfunded liability, with costs borne entirely by New York City.

Sentiment

The available legislative history suggests generally favorable sentiment toward the bill, as reflected by its unanimous 6-0 approval in the Senate Civil Service and Pensions Committee. No committee transcript is provided, so there is no recorded debate to indicate opposition or concern in the materials supplied. The bill’s sponsor list and committee vote suggest support for recognizing prior service of affected officers in the pension system.

Contention

The main policy issue is whether prior traffic enforcement agent service should be treated as police service for pension purposes, especially for members hired before July 1, 2009. Potential contention may center on the fiscal cost to New York City, since the actuarial note projects increased employer contributions and a higher unfunded accrued liability. Another possible point of debate is fairness: supporters may view the bill as correcting inequities for officers with prior city service, while critics could argue it expands pension benefits retroactively or creates special treatment for a limited class of employees.