Albany agenda; Free tolls and no more quotas.

The PBA is vigorously pursuing its lobbying efforts to pass legislation to allow New York City police officers free passage at the city's toll bridges and tunnels along with legislation to ban summons and arrest quotas.

A bill prohibiting precinct commanders from penalizing cops for not writing a certain number of summonses or making a certain number of arrests that supervisors set as minimum "goals" — a euphemism for quotas — has been introduced at the urging of Pat Lynch, myself and other PBA lobbyists. Also getting a strong push from the PBA is legislation exempting New York City police officers from paying tolls on the four city crossings run by the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority — the Triborough and Verrazzano-Narrows Bridges and the Brooklyn-Battery and Queens-Midtown Tunnels. While this bill has been passed by the New York State Senate, the PBA is working hard to neutralize some resistance to its approval in the Assembly.

With the help and cooperation of our allies in Albany, these and many other pieces of legislation that will make your lives safer, easier and less costly have been drafted.

• Signed into law by the Governor’s Aug. 8 is a bill allowing those of you with 20 years of service who want to remain on the job to begin accruing your Variable Supplement Fund (VSF) payments retroactive to Jan. 1, 2002 and collect them in a lump sum when you finally do retire. (VSF payments are now $9,500 a year and will climb by $500 increments until they reach $12,000 in 2007.)

• The Governor has also signed a bill granting ten additional points on civil service examinations to children of police officers killed in the line of duty. Under the terms of the legislation, the eligible child has the option to accept or reject the additional credit.

• If the proposed legislation passes, those of you who are veterans of the U.S. armed forces would get pension credit not only for service in time of war, as is true now, but also in peace time.

• You would be eligible for tuition waivers for up to two courses each semester/quarter while pursuing a baccalaureate or higher degree in SUNY or CUNY programs.

• Retired members would have their VSF payments increased by cost-of-living (COLA) adjustments.

• Retired members who wish to teach in the New York City school system would be able to continue collecting their pensions while doing so, a practice now barred.

• Those of you who participated in the NYPD Cadet Corps would get pension credit for that service.

• Active members would be exempt from state personal income tax from income (including straight time) earned after Sept. 11, 2001.