New YorkA 115342025-2026 Regular SessionHouseWALLET

Provides for compensation and other terms and conditions of employment of certain state officers and employees; appropriation

Sponsored By: Stacey Pheffer Amato (Democratic)

Signed by Governor

WAYS AND MEANSRULES

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

18 provisions identified: 14 benefits, 0 costs, 4 mixed.

Five-year raises and new pay grids for state workers

The law raises base pay for covered state workers over five years: 4.5% in 2026, 4.0% in 2027, 3.5% in 2028, and 3.0% in 2029 and 2030. Raises take effect on the administrative payroll (3/26/2026, 3/25/2027, 4/06/2028, 4/05/2029, 4/04/2030) and the institutional payroll (4/02/2026, 4/01/2027, 3/30/2028, 3/29/2029, 3/28/2030). The law also updates multi‑step salary schedules for both payrolls by grade and step. Your raise shows up at the start of the payroll period nearest the effective date; if two are equally near, the earlier one applies. Hourly, per diem, part‑time, and seasonal staff get prorated raises. The Budget Director can withhold a raise if it is not warranted.

Raises for managers and State Police

Managerial/confidential employees and covered State Police get base‑pay raises of 4.5% on April 1, 2026; 4% on April 1, 2027; 3.5% on April 1, 2028; 3% on April 1, 2029; and 3% on April 1, 2030. Raises are applied to basic annual salary and rounded to the nearest dollar. Hourly, part‑time, seasonal, and other non‑annual staff get prorated raises under Budget Director rules. Some fee‑paid or otherwise excluded positions do not receive these increases.

Set pay rates for prison superintendents

The law sets fixed hiring and job rates for correctional superintendents, based on facility population capacity. For facilities with 400 or more, the 2026 hiring rate is $154,918 and job rate is $211,411; by April 1, 2030 they are $176,910 and $241,421. For facilities under 400, the 2026 hiring rate is $120,471 and job rate is $152,240; by April 1, 2030 they are $137,572 and $173,852. This applies to superintendents appointed on or after August 9, 1975, and to earlier appointees who filed an election.

Hundreds of millions to fund pay changes

The state provides $215.1 million and a separate $112 million to help agencies pay salaries and related costs for the fiscal year starting April 1, 2026. Money is available for liabilities through March 31, 2027 and only after a Budget Director certificate is filed. The Comptroller can pay required amounts from any available personal‑service funds, and the Budget Director can move money if a line is short. The act also funds listed non‑personal services and special pay items to carry out these provisions.

Bigger location pay in downstate areas

Eligible state workers in NYC, Rockland, Westchester, Nassau, and Suffolk get a yearly location payment of $4,000 on April 1, 2025, rising to $4,739 by April 1, 2030. Eligible workers in Dutchess, Orange, and Putnam get $2,000 on April 1, 2025; Ulster is added on April 1, 2026, and the payment rises to $2,454 by April 1, 2030. Location pay counts toward overtime and retirement. This section excludes the legislature and judiciary staffs, SUNY professional service, certain executive‑law positions, contract‑college professionals, and employees in certified bargaining units. Legacy rules continue: Monroe County employees eligible on March 31, 1985 get $200 a year (with leave‑return protections), and Hudson Valley DDS employees keep location pay with limited portability if reassigned.

Back pay when raises start late

If you held a covered job between April 1, 2026 and the first paycheck under this law, you get back pay. You receive a lump sum for the difference between what you were owed and what you were actually paid for that period.

Extra pay for night and pre-shift work

If you work a tour with four or more hours between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., you get inconvenience pay equal to a daily share of $400 a year, up to $825 when approved (effective April 2, 2026). Division of Military and Naval Affairs employees get $60 extra each biweekly period for pre‑shift briefings. OCFS institutional staff who must attend pre‑shift briefings get $4.80 or one‑quarter of their overtime hourly rate, whichever is higher. OPWDD institutional workers who must sleep over continue to get inconvenience pay per the negotiated agreement. Managers and confidential staff also get a $5.50 meal allowance for each eligible overtime meal.

Hazard, winter, and assignment pay

Starting April 1, 2027, eligible full‑time employees at OMH, OPWDD, OCFS, and DOCCS receive $300 a year for facility hazardous duty, prorated for part‑time, when their agreement provides it. DOT operational workers can get winter shift and call‑out payments when a contract provides them. From April 1, 2026 to March 30, 2031, qualifying assignment‑to‑duty and long‑term seasonal jobs can earn annual lump sums when negotiated and minimum work time is met. These lump sums count as salary only for final‑average‑salary retirement calculations.

Higher location pay and redeployment protection

Starting April 1, 2026, location pay is $4,150 a year in NYC, Rockland, Westchester, Nassau, and Suffolk, rising each April 1 to $4,739 by 2030. In Dutchess, Putnam, Orange, and Ulster (added in 2026), it is $2,150 in 2026 and grows to $2,454 by 2030. Monroe County workers who were eligible on March 31, 1985 keep $200 a year. Location pay is on top of base pay and counts for overtime and retirement; non‑annual and seasonal staff get a prorated amount. If Hudson Valley DDS moves you out of Rockland due to staff redeployment, you keep location pay, capped at the rate you had on the move date.

Raises for SUNY and contract-college managers

SUNY trustees may approve pay plans for managerial or confidential staff with total increases up to 4.5% in 2026, 4% in 2027, 3.5% in 2028, and 3% in 2029 and 2030. Comparable increases may apply to non‑professional managerial/confidential jobs at Cornell and Alfred contract colleges, subject to trustee and budget approvals. If you are in a special annuity program under Education Law Article 8‑C, your salary adjustment uses your salary before the Article 8‑C reduction. It is not cut because of that program.

State manager raises with controls

The law sets new hiring and job rates for managerial/confidential (M/C) and M-grade positions starting April 1, 2026, with added rates on April 1 of 2027, 2028, and 2029. Increases start on the payroll period whose first day is nearest to each effective date. No increase is paid until the Director of Employee Relations certifies that required union agreements are in effect. The Budget Director may withhold raises, adjust salary schedules, and reduce posted salaries for vacant M/C positions. People in non‑graded jobs can receive merit and longevity awards, and special‑annuity participants keep their full salary adjustment calculations.

SUNY and contract-college manager pay

Each year from 2027 through 2031, SUNY sets aside a pool equal to 1% of total basic salaries on June 30 for eligible managerial/confidential incumbents, subject to approvals. From April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2031, contract colleges may raise some nonprofessional salaries within approved caps and plans. Cornell and Alfred may grant comparable increases for certain positions if SUNY trustees and the Budget Director approve and funds are available. SUNY may withhold all or part of an individual’s increase under section 14.

State contributions to dependent care accounts

If your negotiated agreement sets an amount and you are enrolled in the State’s dependent care deduction program, the State pays that amount into your account. These payments come from this act’s funds. They are not part of your base salary and do not count for overtime or retirement.

Funds for grievances and labor talks

The law keeps a statewide labor‑management committee in place from April 2, 2026 through April 1, 2031 to study work life and productivity. It also makes money available to pay and publish grievance and arbitration settlements under named contract articles. Funds are available to pay grievance settlements and awards under Executive Order 42 and NYCRR Part 560.

Pay protection when hiring rates rise

When the state raises a job’s hiring rate under civil service law and an incumbent in the affected area does not get that higher rate, the state and the union may agree on extra pay for that incumbent. The amount and rules are set by the negotiated agreement.

Up to $300 for damaged work items

From April 1, 2026 through March 31, 2031, the state may pay up to $300 per approved claim for personal items damaged or destroyed in duty by an incarcerated person, patient, or client, without your fault. Union employees can be paid only if the Director of Employee Relations certifies that their contract allows it. You cannot get paid here for a loss that is already covered under other listed laws.

Up to $600 for on-duty property damage

From April 1, 2026 through March 31, 2031, the State can pay up to $600 per claim for personal items damaged while you do your job, if your union agreement allows it. The payment covers your actual loss, up to $600. You cannot also collect for the same loss under other listed laws.

Rules for 2026 multi-year union terms

For agreements that start in 2026 and run more than three years, the law treats them as fixed‑term for representation rules. For this purpose, the term cannot exceed four years. This changes representation timing rules, not pay or benefits.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

Stacey Pheffer Amato
Democratic • House

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 199 • No: 1

Senate vote • 6/4/2026

FLOOR Vote

Yes: 59 • No: 1

House vote • 6/3/2026

Assembly floor vote

Yes: 140 • No: 0

Actions Timeline

SIGNED CHAP.126
6/5/2026House
DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR
6/5/2026House
RETURNED TO ASSEMBLY
6/4/2026Senate
PASSED SENATE
6/4/2026Senate
3RD READING CAL.1780
6/4/2026Senate
SUBSTITUTED FOR S10629
6/4/2026Senate
REFERRED TO RULES
6/3/2026Senate
DELIVERED TO SENATE
6/3/2026House
PASSED ASSEMBLY
6/3/2026House
ORDERED TO THIRD READING RULES CAL.385
6/2/2026House
RULES REPORT CAL.385
6/2/2026House
REPORTED
6/2/2026House
REPORTED REFERRED TO RULES
6/2/2026House
REFERRED TO WAYS AND MEANS
5/31/2026House

Bill Text

Original
5/31/2026
PDF

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