{"id":2351652,"date":"2024-10-07T12:44:02","date_gmt":"2024-10-07T16:44:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hochul-vetoes-retirement-equity-bill-for-specialized-cops-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-10-07T12:46:38","modified_gmt":"2024-10-07T16:46:38","slug":"hochul-vetoes-retirement-equity-bill-for-specialized-cops-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hochul-vetoes-retirement-equity-bill-for-specialized-cops-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Hochul vetoes retirement \u2018equity\u2019 bill for specialized cops &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhochul-vetoes-retirement-equity-bill-for-specialized-cops-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2351652&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>New York Governor Kathy Hochul has vetoed a bill that aimed to \u2064enhance pension benefits \u2062for specialized law enforcement \u200cofficers, including \u200bpark\u200d rangers and campus police. The proposal, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-recounts-great-private-meeting-with-desantis-focused-on-taking-back-our-country\/\" title=\"Trump describes a &#039;great&#039; private meeting with DeSantis centered on &#039;taking back our Country.\">received strong \u2063support<\/a> from the Democratic-controlled Legislature, would have allowed these officers to retire\u200c after\u2064 20 years of service instead of the current 25 years. Supporters argued this change would address pay equity and help attract and retain \u200cofficers. However, Hochul cited\u200d the substantial fiscal burden the legislation would impose on the state, \u200bestimating a cost of approximately $67 million for retroactive pay and an increase of $6 million in annual contributions. Hochul noted that the bill has been vetoed multiple times previously for similar financial concerns. The veto elicited strong criticism from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/l-a-s-new-controversial-d-a-hires-prosecutor-who-suggested-cops-are-trained-to-kill-us\/\" title=\"L.A.\u2019s New Controversial D.A. Hires Prosecutor Who Suggested Cops Are \u2018Trained To Kill Us\u2019\">law enforcement unions<\/a>, with officials\u2064 accusing the governor\u2062 of undermining public trust and \u200ddemonstrating an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nyc-mayoral-candidate-slams-nypd-in-campaign-ad\/\" title=\"NYC mayoral candidate slams NYPD in campaign ad\">anti-police stance<\/a>. Advocates\u2062 for \u200dthe bill highlighted that many other\u2062 law enforcement professionals in the state already benefit from a 20-year retirement plan and argued that the proposed changes were necessary to ensure equity among officers.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Hochul vetoes retirement &lsquo;equity&rsquo; bill for specialized cops<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1778042\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>(The Center Square) &mdash; New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has vetoed a bill that would have boosted pension benefits for park rangers, campus police and other specialized <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgia-secretary-of-state-investigating-voter-registration-group-run-by-democrat-raphael-warnock\/\" title=\"Georgia Secretary Of State Investigating Voter Registration Group Run By Democrat Raphael Warnock\">law enforcement officers<\/a>, citing the substantial fiscal impact on the state government.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The proposal, approved by the Democratic-controlled Legislature in June with nearly unanimous support, called for allowing regional state park police, environmental conservation officers, forest rangers, and university police officers to apply for retirement benefits after 20 years instead of the current 25-year term. Supporters said the bill was aimed at improving pay equity and helping those agencies attract and retain new officers.<\/p>\n<p>But Hochul vetoed the bill, saying it would require those state agencies to come up with nearly $67 million to cover retroactive pay for the officers, which she said prompted her and previous governors to reject the changes.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This bill has been vetoed four times over the past five years because this pension enhancement would impose substantial unbudgeted costs on the state,&rdquo; Hochul, a Democrat, wrote in her veto memo. &ldquo;The state would be required to pay a past service cost of $66.7 million and the annual employer contribution would increase by $6.0 million. The bill is disapproved.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The move prompted a fiery response from Jim McCartney, president of the Police Benevolent Association of New York, who called Hochul&rsquo;s &ldquo;tyrannical actions&rdquo; and &ldquo;the most unconscionable behavior&rdquo; he has &ldquo;ever witnessed by government officials and a complete violation of public trust.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Despite our best efforts to support the governor&rsquo;s public safety, environmental, and inclusion agenda, her true colors have finally shown through, and all New Yorkers can see her for the anti-police, anti-labor authoritarian that she is,&rdquo; McCartney said in a statement. &ldquo;One has to wonder what Governor Hochul&rsquo;s democrat colleagues in the state legislature think about this. They have spoken overwhelmingly in support of our members and their specialized missions that have saved so many lives.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Lawmakers who pushed for the proposed changes pointed out that New York state troopers and about 97% of municipal police officers have a 20-year retirement plan in which they can receive 50% of their final average salary. They also get an additional benefit known as &ldquo;1\/60th,&rdquo; which means for every year above 20 years of employment, they get an additional 1\/60th or 1.66% of their final average salary.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;For example, a police officer who has a 20-year retirement benefit, who works for 21 years, will get a pension equal to 51.66%, whereas a police officer with 22 years of experience will receive a pension worth 53.33%,&rdquo; they wrote in a summary of the bill. &ldquo;To rectify this discrepancy and to provide equity among law enforcement officers, this legislation authorizes the Agency Police Bargaining Unit to be given a 20-year retirement plan.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The PBA argues that the &ldquo;lack of retirement equity&rdquo; is responsible for recruitment shortfalls and a &ldquo;mass exodus of seasoned officers who are poached by agencies that recognize their worth and compensate them appropriately.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Hochul&rsquo;s rejection of the plan is likely to drive a further wedge between her and the state&rsquo;s influential police unions, who have been sparring with the Democratic governor over crime, police funding and other law-enforcement issues.<\/p>\n<p>A few days before Hochul vetoed the bill, the PBA&rsquo;s specialized officer unit took out billboard ads in counties around the state, blasting Hochul for a lack of staffing at specialized agencies that has increased criminal activity.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;HELP WANTED &hellip; Our streets are less safe now,&rdquo; the billboard ads read. &ldquo;New Governor Needed.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Everywhere we look we see Governor Hochul&rsquo;s failure to keep New Yorkers safe from crime and public health threats,&rdquo; the PBA&rsquo;s McCartney said. &ldquo;While the governor pays lip service to public safety, her actions in supporting the brave officers who stand between danger and the public come up far short.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1778042\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1778042\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hochul vetoes bill enhancing pensions for specialized cops<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2351653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Kathy.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[8433,4762,3967,42492,14351],"class_list":["post-2351652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-hochul","tag-legislation","tag-police","tag-retirement-equity","tag-veto"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Kathy.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2351652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2351652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2351652\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2351653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2351652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2351652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2351652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}