Should officials who abuse the public trust and commit related crimes be able to get the same pension they expected?

The process was first implemented in 2011 in the Public Integrity Reform Act, and it requires a prosecuting agency to pursue a separate civil action in state Supreme Court, after a public official’s criminal conviction, in order to rescind their pension.

A judge could consider whether the forfeiture is justified, whether it should be full or partial, and the severity of the impact on the family should the pension be lost.

Under the 2011 law, the crime of conviction must be a felony, and it must have been related to the individual’s official duties. This law applies to a broad range of public servants who receive a pension, including statewide elected officials, legislators, judges, municipal officers and members of public authorities.

However, the law only worked on a forward-looking basis, meaning that those who became public officials before 2011 were not eligible to have their pensions revoked. The vast majority of public officials in New York entered the pension system before 2011.

This glaring loophole was supposed to be corrected with a 2017 constitutional amendment.

The New York state Constitution safeguards public pensions, and any ability to revoke someone’s pension after they already joined the system would have to involve a change to the Constitution. In 2017, New York voters did just that, approving an amendment that would expand forfeiture beyond the 2011 cut-off date, with 73% of the public voting in favor.

— Asher Stockler is a government accountability reporter for lohud.com. Gary Craig is a veteran reporter with the Democrat and Chronicle, covering courts and crime and more.

— Madison Scott is a journalist with the Democrat and Chronicle who contributed reporting for this article.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: How NY could take state benefits from criminal officials