PRESS RELEASE - Governor Hochul Misses Historic Opportunity by Vetoing Pension Equity and Diversity Legislation
Friday, December 08, 2023Failure to Enact 20-Year Retirement for State Law Enforcement Officers Jeopardizes Public Safety and Makes it Harder to Recruit and Retain Diverse Officers
Albany, NY (December 8, 2023) – The PBA of New York State (PBANYS), the union representing more than 1,100 highly specialized state law enforcement officers, today expressed its profound disappointment that Governor Hochul has once again vetoed a pension equity bill (A.4018/S.1991) which would help them recruit and retain female officers and bring more diversity to their ranks.
The legislation provides Environmental Conservation Officers, Park Police Police, Forest Rangers, and State University Police Officers with the universal standard for police retirements. The failure to sign this historic legislation or include it in previous budgets, continues to jeopardize the safety of New Yorkers, our environment, and the state’s priceless cultural and historic resources.
PBA of New York State president Jim McCartney, said, “Time and again we have shared our concerns with Governor Hochul and time and again we are told we have been heard. The third consecutive veto by Governor Hochul leaves us wondering if we are being heard, if the sacrifices of our members are appreciated, and whether the Governor is truly concerned about diversity and protecting our state’s environment and public health or are those just campaign soundbites?”
McCartney continued, “New York State needs a 20-year retirement option to make us more competitive with other law enforcement agencies across the state to stem the loss of highly trained and specialized officers. Under the current 25-year retirement option, the state is encouraging them to walk out the door and pursue opportunities with police agencies that have better retirement options.”
Governor Hochul has no problem enacting an electric school bus mandate which will cost taxpayers more than two billion dollars in new spending each year, but somehow it is hard for her to find less than $8 million a year to pay for a 20-year retirement option to make our state police agencies more competitive with other agencies so we can recruit and retain more diverse officers.
Matthew Krug, PBANYS Vice President, asked, “How does Governor Hochul plan on achieving her diversity goals if she is unwilling to provide more than 1,100 highly specialized state law enforcement officers with the same retirement benefit which nearly every other state and municipal police officer in the state already receives? They are being actively recruited to leave, and who can blame them? How are we going to carry out her mission of ensuring environmental justice and protecting public health among our state’s must vulnerable populations without environmental conservation officers to hold polluters accountable? The time for promises and platitudes is over.”
At a time when PBANYS members have committed themselves to realizing Governor Hochul’s vision to strengthen the effectiveness of our law enforcement agencies, we are admittedly bewildered as to why she would undermine her own initiative by not meeting with us to avail herself of our intimate knowledge of the challenges of recruiting and retaining these highly sought-after officers. Time and again the union has requested to meet with Governor Hochul to lend our expertise in community policing and work toward shared goals through effective strategies. Time and again Governor Hochul has failed to even acknowledge our requests to meet and collaborate.
It is important to note that public policy groups that often oppose pension bills due to budgetary implications are not objecting to PBANYS’ 20-year retirement parity bill because they understand the ultimate cost of losing these highly specialized law enforcement officers. They do not view it as a “pension sweetener” but rather a critical means to enhance these vital agencies and their ability to protect the public. If traditional critics do not oppose the bill, we are left to wonder what the Governor’s objections are that would lead her to veto the best opportunity to achieve diversity, support retention, and promote recruitment?
The numbers bear out that losing so many officers to other agencies is actually a greater drain on the state’s finances than providing a 20-year retirement which will promote recruitment and retention of the best and most qualified officers who possess the specialized skills that the state calls on in its hour of need – particularly during severe weather events caused by climate change and complicated search and rescues that result in lives saved.
PBANYS supports Governor Hochul’s efforts to reimagine policing to make it more responsive to, and reflective of, the communities we serve. We are committed to joining Governor Hochul in this historic opportunity to fundamentally reshape our most important law enforcement assets. We have an important perspective that should be part of the ongoing dialogue, and our members who are committed to the Governor’s vision must be retained in order to bring it to fruition.
The state’s Environmental Conservation Officers, Park Police Officers, Forest Rangers, and State University Police Officers have the same – if not higher – qualifications and credentials as nearly every state and municipal police officer currently receiving a 20-year retirement benefit. They face the same dangers, enforce the same laws, and make the same sacrifices – all without the same security for their families.
Failing to enact our 20-year retirement is a missed opportunity and excluding it from the Governor’s budget proposals twice already, has and continues to imperil these efforts and demoralizes the officers who have answered Governor Hochul’s call time and time again to serve and protect the people, environment, and priceless resources of New York State in its darkest hours.
McCartney concluded, “Governor Hochul you are the only person with the power to include pension equity in the budget. The legislature has strongly signaled their support for a 20-year for four consecutive years, and twice previously you’ve stated it needs to be included in the budget. Our members are asking the obvious question, ‘what are you waiting for?’ Your budget is due in six short weeks and failing to include it yet again will be received by our members as you saying they don’t deserve the same retirement benefit as every other state law enforcement officer. These are your police officers Governor, and we need you to do right by them and their families.”
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ABOUT the PBA of New York State: Established in 2011, the Police Benevolent Association of New York State (PBA of New York State), is a law enforcement labor union representing the interests of more than 1,100 members of the New York State Agency Police Services Unit (APSU). The PBA of New York State is the exclusive bargaining agent for the New York State University (SUNY) Police, the New York State Environmental Conservation Police, the New York State Park Police, and the New York State Forest Rangers. Our members police and protect New York State’s public universities and colleges; state parks and historic sites; and they enforce state laws and protect our lands and forests and ensure environmental safety and quality throughout the state.
