Voters Approve Pension Forfeiture Constitutional Amendment

New York voters have approved a constitutional amendment that will allow judges to reduce or revoke the pensions of public officials who are convicted of a felony related to his or her official duties.

According to unofficial State Board of Elections results, the measure was approved with more than 72 percent of the vote.

Under the 2011 Public Integrity Reform Act, any public official who joined the retirement system after November 12, 2011 is subject to pension forfeiture if they are convicted of certain felonies related to their public office. However, that law did not apply to public officials who joined the retirement system before that date because of language contained in the State Constitution.  This constitutional amendment is intended to address that issue.

The measure goes into effect on January 1, 2018.

Read news coverage from the Capitol Confidential blog, and background on the issue from Newsday and the Syracuse Post-Standard.