New York A 8187: Enacts the "Building Recruitment and Incentives for Dedicated Government Employees (BRIDGE) act"

Bill Text

Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

 Skip to main content 

 New York State Assembly

 Speaker Carl E. Heastie

 --> 
 --> 

 --> 

• 
 Assembly Members 

• 
 Legislative Info 

• 
 Public Hearings 

• 
 Speaker's Press 

• 
 Assembly Reports 

• 
 Committees & More 

• Bill Search Home
• Laws
• Legislative Calendar
• Public Hearing Schedule
• Assembly Calendars
• Assembly Committee Agenda 

 Javascript must be enabled to properly view this page. 

 Bill No.: 

• Summary 
• Actions 
• Committee&nbspVotes 
• Floor&nbspVotes 
• Memo 
• Text 
• LFIN 
• Chamber&nbspVideo/Transcript 
A08187 Summary:

BILL NOA08187 

&nbsp

SAME ASSAME AS S07716

&nbsp

SPONSORLasher

&nbsp

COSPNSRBarrett, Lee, Magnarelli, Lunsford, Schiavoni, Seawright, Shimsky, Tapia, Zinerman, Kelles

&nbsp

MLTSPNSR

&nbsp

Add Art 20-A §1010, R & SS L

&nbsp

Enacts the "building recruitment and incentives for dedicated government employees (BRIDGE) act" which provides a service credit for members who were previously employed by the federal government.

Go to top A08187 Actions:

BILL NOA08187 

&nbsp

05/05/2025referred to governmental employees

01/07/2026referred to governmental employees

Go to topA08187 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topA08187 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topA08187 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 8187

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN ASSEMBLY

 May 5, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by M. of A. LASHER, BARRETT, LEE, MAGNARELLI, LUNSFORD,
 SCHIAVONI, SEAWRIGHT, SHIMSKY, TAPIA, ZINERMAN -- read once and
 referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees

 AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
 enacting the "building recruitment and incentives for dedicated
 government employees (BRIDGE) act"

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
 2 the "building recruitment and incentives for dedicated government
 3 employees (BRIDGE) act".
 4 § 2. Legislative findings. The legislature finds that in light of
 5 recent federal workforce reductions, particularly those orchestrated by
 6 the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), New York state has an
 7 unprecedented opportunity to attract highly skilled professionals with
 8 substantial public service experience. The abrupt termination of thou-
 9 sands of federal employees, including seasoned scientists, engineers,
 10 and public administrators, has not only disrupted federal operations but
 11 also released a wealth of talent into the job market.
 12 To capitalize on this opportunity and strengthen our state workforce,
 13 this legislation proposes allowing current and future New York state
 14 employees who have prior federal service to purchase service credit
 15 toward their New York state pension for the time they spent in federal
 16 employment. By offering a pathway to integrate their prior service into
 17 the state pension system, the legislature aims to create a more attrac-
 18 tive employment environment that honors the contributions of these
 19 public servants and secures their future within our state workforce.
 20 § 3. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding a new
 21 article 20-A to read as follows:
 22 ARTICLE 20-A
 23 FEDERAL SERVICE CREDIT

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD10790-08-5

 A. 8187 2

 1 Section 1010. Federal service credit.
 2 § 1010. Federal service credit. Notwithstanding any law to the contra-
 3 ry, a member of the New York state and local employees' retirement
 4 system, may be eligible for credit for prior employment by the federal
 5 government as hereinafter provided:
 6 a. A member, upon application to such retirement system, may obtain a
 7 total not to exceed five years of service credit for up to five years of
 8 employment by the federal government, if the member was enrolled in a
 9 federal defined benefit pension plan. To obtain such credit, a member
 10 shall pay such retirement system, for deposit in the fund used to accu-
 11 mulate employer contributions, a sum equal to the product of the number
 12 of years of federal service being claimed and three percent of such
 13 member's compensation earned during the twelve months of credited
 14 service immediately preceding the date that the member made application
 15 for credit pursuant to this section. If permitted by rule or regulation
 16 of the applicable retirement system, the member may pay such member
 17 costs by payroll deduction for a period which shall not exceed the time
 18 period of federal service to be credited pursuant to this section. In
 19 the event the member leaves the employer payroll prior to completion o