By Sarina Trangle
A bill boosting all veterans’ access to civil service job credits has a fighting chance, if state legislators vote to override the governor’s veto during special session, Queens officials said.
City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), chairman of the Veterans Committee, City Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside) and the committee’s three other members urged state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Long Island) and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) to put the measure back into the Legislature’s chambers in the event of a special session. In a memo attached to copies of the Nov. 20 letter sent to Skelos and Sheldon, Ulrich contended that Cold War era veterans and women traditionally barred from combat roles are unfairly penalized by the current system. Only those who served and were honorably discharged during specific conflicts are now eligible for the pension credits.
“All military service is public service and it should be acknowledged as exactly that,” Ulrich said in a statement. “Those who have served our country honorably, regardless of time or era, should be entitled to the same benefits. The state Legislature has already voted to approve this bill by an overwhelming margin. They should affirm their support for our vets by overriding the governor’s veto.”
Sen. Will Larkin (R-New Windsor) carried the bill in the Senate, where the 47 present lawmakers voted for it. Ulrich maintained the measure received near unanimous support in the lower chamber, where Assemblywoman Amy Paulin (D-Scarsdale) introduced it, but a tally breakdown was not available on the Assembly website.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo vetoed the so-called Military Buy-Back Reform Bill, saying extending up to three years of public retirement system credit to those who served and were honorably discharged during any period would be too costly.
In his Nov. 7 veto memorandum, Cuomo estimated the legislation would force municipalities to wrangle with a collective $57 million obligation. He said the city alone would incur an annual $18 million liability, an amount the governor claimed the mayor’s office balked at.
“This bill would run roughshod over systematic reforms carefully negotiated with the Legislature to avoid saddling local property taxpayers with additional, unmanageable burdens,” the governor wrote.
Ulrich’s office did not respond to a request for comment on how many city vets would be eligible for job credits should the measure pass or on the governor’s criticism.
State lawmakers have publicly toyed with the idea of taking up their compensation and travel expense system in a special session next month.
Neither Skelos nor Silver responded to requests for comment on the likelihood of the Military Buy-Back Reform Bill coming to the floor during such a session.
Reach reporter Sarina Trangle by e-mail at strangle@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4546.
