Bill > A08563

This bill authorizes municipalities and districts to establish centralized administrative offices that can collectively provide a range of employee services, with a primary focus on health insurance and benefits management. Specifically, the bill allows municipal corporations to create cooperative agreements to establish a centralized office that can handle tasks like payroll administration, health insurance program participation, personnel services, and benefits management. The bill reduces some previous restrictions by lowering the minimum number of participating municipalities from three to two and reducing the minimum number of covered employees from two thousand to five hundred. It also introduces a wellness program provision that allows health insurance plans to offer premium rate reductions for employees who participate in bona fide wellness programs, defined as systematic approaches to promoting good health and preventing or mitigating disease. Additionally, the bill expands the definition of "municipal corporation" to include more types of public entities like fire districts and public libraries, and provides more flexibility in how municipal health insurance plans can be structured and administered. The bill aims to help smaller municipalities more easily collaborate on administrative services and provide more flexible, cost-effective health insurance options for public employees.

Government Affairs

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A8563