While the Legislature struggles to reach final agreement on yet another budget that is sure to spend more than the state can afford, a bit of good news for New York taxpayers can be found on the last page of today’s report from Governors David Paterson’s Task Force on Public Retiree Health Insurance.
The task force said it was “unable to reach consensus” on whether to support legislation that would make it much more difficult for counties and municipalities to change health care benefits for their retired employees. In other words, public employee unions were unable to turn the 16 – 13-member panel into a vehicle for gaining gubernatorial support of a bill that would effectively lock in tens of billions of dollars in unfunded retiree health care liabilities across the state. The report also recommends creation of a “standing” (i.e., permanent) task force to continue studying the issue.
Background: Since 1994, based in part on recommendations of another gubernatorial task force, New York school districts have not been allowed to make any change in retiree health benefits that is not negotiated with the unions representing their current employees. This prohibition was first imposed in a temporary bill that was re-enacted annually until last year, when Paterson unwisely agreed to a provision making it permanent in exchange for a very modest tweak of pension benefits for teachers. Citing the school district precedent, unions representing other groups of employees had been seeking a similar law for years, only to see it vetoed by Governors George Pataki, Eliot Spitzer and Paterson. However, Paterson’s veto message was coupled with a promise to create a task force to study the issue — a promise he kept last March.
The 16- 13-member task force included three representatives of county, town and municipal organizations, five Paterson administration officials appointees and a Paterson-appointed chair, Richard Berman, plus a representative of the state comptroller. Since Paterson controlled the swing votes, the final result might be taken as a sign that the governor will veto the bill again if it is passed again this year. Meanwhile, union and retiree representatives filed dissenting memos indicating they aren’t about to give up their fight.
Most of the task force report is taken up with technical recommendations for streamlining and improving coverage–none of which, on first glance, seem to add anything to tax-funded expenses.
About the Author
You may also like
New Docs Raise Big Questions About NY’s Megafab Mega-Deal
The Hochul Administration published a pair of documents concerning the Micron Megafab deal that raise more questions than they answer. Read More
City union scandal isn’t NY’s first
One of New York City’s largest public-sector unions has been effectively taken over by its national parent after an audit revealed extensive financial mismanagement. It’s the latest example of misconduct made possible under New York’s public-sector collective bargaining rules that force the government to collect hundreds of millions of dollars annually without any safeguards on how the funds are spent. Read More
Firefighter-rights bill torches local control
Two of Albany’s most-vetoed concepts are headed toward Governor Hochul’s desk, this time concealed as a “firefighter bill of rights.” Read More
Still-Unreleased Union Deal Rains Cash on State Workers
The still-unreleased deal between the Hochul Administration and the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), state government’s largest group of unionized workers, would award bonuses, backpay, and guaranteed raises the next three years, documents sent to union members show. Read More
New York’s Hospital Industry Ranks Near the Bottom of Two Quality Report Cards
New York's hospitals remain near the bottom of two quality report cards. The state's hospitals received the lowest rate of any state except Nevada and DC. Read More
As a Supreme Court Ruling Loomed, Cuomo Bent His Own Rules on COVID ‘Clusters’
In the midst of the constitutional showdown over his pandemic policies, Governor Cuomo made changes to a disputed Brooklyn 'cluster zone' that seemed to contradict his own declared guidelines.
Read More
Thanks to Unions, NYC’s School Reopening Deal Was Costly and Educationally Hazardous
New York City schools reopened this fall under terms dictated by the city's teacher and principal unions. Now, as city schools close -- once more at the unions' behest -- the city is left with thousands of extra teachers hi Read More
De Blasio’s (Apparent) Good Move Dissolves Into Phony “Savings”
Late Thursday, as hailed in this space, Mayor de Blasio finally made a decisive move—or at least seemed to make a move—in the direction of actually saving some money on labor costs by getting tough with a powerful (and powerfully self-entitled) municipal union. Read More
Enjoying our work? Sign up for email alerts on our latest news and research.