Bill Text: NY A04607 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Provides a heart disease presumption for correction officers, correction supervisors, deputy sheriff patrol or deputy sheriff patrol supervisors.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)
Status: (Vetoed) 2022-12-16 - tabled [A04607 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A04607-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4607--B 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 4, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE, GRIFFIN, DURSO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees -- recommitted to the Committee on Governmental Employees in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- again reported from said committee with amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommit- ted to said committee AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to providing a heart disease presumption for correction officers, correction supervisors, deputy sheriff patrol or deputy sheriff patrol supervisors The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding 2 a new section 63-i to read as follows: 3 § 63-i. Disability benefits; certain disabilities. Notwithstanding any 4 provision of this chapter or of any general, special or local law to the 5 contrary, any member who is a correction officer, correction supervisor, 6 deputy sheriff patrol or deputy sheriff patrol supervisor who is a 7 member of the New York state and local employees' retirement system and 8 contracts any condition of impairment of health caused by diseases of 9 the heart, resulting in disability or death to such correction officer, 10 correction supervisor, deputy sheriff patrol or deputy sheriff patrol 11 supervisor, presently employed, and who shall have sustained such disa- 12 bility while so employed, shall be presumptive evidence that such disa- 13 bility was incurred in the performance and discharge of duty and the 14 natural and proximate result of an accident, unless the contrary be 15 proved by competent evidence; provided, however, that prior to entry 16 into service, such correction officer, correction supervisor, deputy 17 sheriff patrol or deputy sheriff patrol supervisor successfully passed a EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD08487-07-2A. 4607--B 2 1 physical examination which failed to disclose evidence of any disease or 2 other impairment of the heart. 3 § 2. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding a new 4 section 605-g to read as follows: 5 § 605-g. Disability benefits; certain disabilities. Notwithstanding 6 any provision of this chapter or of any general, special or local law to 7 the contrary, any member who is a correction officer, correction super- 8 visor, deputy sheriff patrol or deputy sheriff patrol supervisor who is 9 a member of the New York state and local employees' retirement system 10 and contracts any condition of impairment of health caused by diseases 11 of the heart, resulting in disability or death to such correction offi- 12 cer, correction supervisor, deputy sheriff patrol or deputy sheriff 13 patrol supervisor, presently employed, and who shall have sustained such 14 disability while so employed, shall be presumptive evidence that such 15 disability was incurred in the performance and discharge of duty and the 16 natural and proximate result of an accident, unless the contrary be 17 proved by competent evidence; provided, however, that prior to entry 18 into service, such correction officer, correction supervisor, deputy 19 sheriff patrol or deputy sheriff patrol supervisor successfully passed a 20 physical examination which failed to disclose evidence of any disease or 21 other impairment of the heart. 22 § 3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, none 23 of the provisions of this act shall be subject to section 25 of the 24 retirement and social security law. 25 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately. FISCAL NOTE.-- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50: This bill would allow certain members of the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement system (NYSLERS) employed as correction officers, correction supervisors, deputy sheriff patrol, or deputy sheriff patrol supervisors to receive an accidental disability benefit if the member is impaired due to a condition of the heart as a result of an accident, in the performance of his or her duties, unless the contrary be proven by competent evidence. For members in Tiers 1 and 2, the annual benefit would be 3/4 of final average salary (FAS) less worker's compensation. For members in Tiers 3-6 who are covered under the provisions of Article 14-B of the Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL), the annual bene- fit would be 2/3 of FAS less worker's compensation. For all other affected members in Tiers 3-6, the annual benefit would be 1/3 of FAS. The provisions of Section 25 of the RSSL will not apply. Insofar as this bill affects the NYSLERS, if this legislation is enacted during the 2022 legislative session, it would lead to more disa- bilities being classified as "accidental". The cost of the revised bene- fit will depend upon the applicant's age, service, salary, plan, and benefit type otherwise payable. However, we anticipate that few additional accidental disability retirements will be granted, and thus, the resulting costs are expected to be negligible. All costs arising from this bill would be shared by the State of New York and all of the participating employers in the NYSLERS. Summary of relevant resources: Membership data as of March 31, 2021 was used in measuring the impact of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2021 actuari- al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2021 Report of the Actuary and the 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.A. 4607--B 3 The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2020 and 2021 Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and the Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York: Audit and Control. The Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March 31, 2021 New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements and Supplementary Information. I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and meet the Quali- fication Standards to render the actuarial opinion contained herein. This fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the viability of the proposed change nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for the professional judgment of an attorney. This estimate, dated January 11, 2022, and intended for use only during the 2022 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2022-31, prepared by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.
