BILL NUMBER: S8398
SPONSOR: GALLIVAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general municipal law, in relation to authorizing
the Iroquois central school district to establish an insurance reserve
fund
 
PURPOSE:
To authorize the Iroquois central school district to establish an insur-
ance reserve fund in order to make expenditures related to health-relat-
ed claims.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one amends the general municipal law governing insurance reserve
funds to permit the Iroquois central school district to establish such
reserve funds.
Section 2. Establishes the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
In an effort to contain costs associated with increasing health insur-
ance premiums, which create a significant strain on school budgets annu-
ally, many school districts have opted to move to a self-insurance model
for health benefit programs as opposed to traditional premium based
programs.
The Iroquois central school district has determined that a self-insu-
rance model is a lower cost method of delivering health insurance to its
employees, thereby lowering the district's budgetary expenses. Nonethe-
less, the challenge with such a model is the unpredictability of claims.
Such fluctuations in claims, coupled with the existing statutory
restrictions related to fund balances, necessitate this authorization.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.