Actions

Meetings

Calendars

Votes

Memo

BILL NUMBER:S5460

TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the tax law, in relation to access to the wage reporting system

PURPOSE: To provide the New York State and Local Retirement System with access to the wage reporting system administered by the department of taxation and finance.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1 of this bill amends Section 171-a of the Tax Law to provide the New York State and Local Retirement System with access to the wage reporting system administered by the department of taxation and finance.

Section 2 of this bill provides for an immediate effective date.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New Bill.

JUSTIFICATION: Sections 102, 211, 212 and 402 of the Retirement and Social Security Law place limits on the amount that may be earned by a retiree upon a return to public employment. The Comptroller and the New York State and Local Retirement System have a fiduciary obligation to suspend the payment of retirement benefits to retirees who re-enter the public workforce and whose salaries exceed the earnings limitations. At present, the New York State and Local Retirement System compares information with the Division of Payroll within the Office of the State Comptroller in an effort to identify retirees who have obtained employment with the state. However, no mechanism exists to carry out a similar search for retirees employed with the thousands of local public employers in the state. Access to the wage reporting system would provide such a mechanism. The Comptroller urges passage of this legislation.

BUDGET IMPLICATIONS: This bill has no significant fiscal impact.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This bill would be effective immediately after it was signed into law.

Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________

5460

2011-2012 Regular Sessions

IN SENATE

May 24, 2011
___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  GRIFFO -- (at request of the State Comptroller) --
  read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to
  the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations

AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to access to the wage reporting
  system

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Section 171-a of the tax law, as added by  chapter  545  of
the  laws of 1978, is amended by adding a new subdivision 6-b to read as
follows:
  (6-B) NOTWITHSTANDING ANY  PROVISION  OF  LAW  TO  THE  CONTRARY,  THE
COMMISSIONER  SHALL  ENTER  INTO  A COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE
COMPTROLLER, WHICH AGREEMENT SHALL PROVIDE FOR THE UTILIZATION OF INFOR-
MATION OBTAINED  PURSUANT  TO  SUBDIVISION  ONE  OF  THIS  SECTION,  FOR
PURPOSES  OF  DETERMINING  THE  AMOUNT  A RETIRED MEMBER OF A RETIREMENT
SYSTEM OR PENSION PLAN ADMINISTERED BY THE STATE OR ANY OF ITS POLITICAL
SUBDIVISIONS WHO RETURNS  TO  GAINFUL  EMPLOYMENT  HAS  EARNED  FOR  THE
PURPOSES  OF  SECTIONS  ONE HUNDRED TWO, TWO HUNDRED ELEVEN, TWO HUNDRED
TWELVE AND THREE HUNDRED TWO OF THE RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL SECURITY LAW.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
  FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
  This bill would give the state Comptroller access to the wage  report-
ing  system administered by the department of taxation and finance. This
would enable the New York State and Local Employees'  Retirement  System
and  the  New  York State and Local Police and Fire Retirement System to
verify that retirees who return to work  for  any  public  employer  are
earning less than the limits under Sections 102, 211, 212 and 302 of the
Retirement and Social Security Law.
  If  this bill is enacted, there would be no additional costs. However,
utilization of this information could result in the partial recovery  of
the pensions of any retirees who earn in excess of these limits.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD11516-01-1
S. 5460                             2
  This  estimate,  dated  December  17,  2010, and intended for use only
during the 2011 Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  Number  2011-68
prepared  by  the  Actuary  for  the New York State and Local Employees'
Retirement System and the New York  State  and  Local  Police  and  Fire
Retirement System.