Bill Text: NY A05304 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Authorizes William Schumaker and Mark Hennessy to receive certain service credit under section 384-d of the retirement and social security law.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-06-01 - ordered to third reading rules cal.525 [A05304 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A05304-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         5304--A

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 12, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. McDONALD -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee  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

        AN ACT to authorize William  Schumaker  and  Mark  Hennessy  to  receive
          certain  service  credit  under  section  384-d  of the retirement and
          social security law

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
     2  the  city  of  Rensselaer,  in the county of Rensselaer, a participating
     3  employer in the New York state and  local  police  and  fire  retirement
     4  system,  which  previously  elected  to  offer  the optional twenty year
     5  retirement plan, established pursuant to section 384-d of the retirement
     6  and social security law, to firefighters employed by such city, is here-
     7  by authorized to make participation in such plan  available  to  William
     8  Schumaker, a firefighter employed by the city of Rensselaer with a start
     9  date  of  October  10,  1996, who, for reasons not ascribable to his own
    10  negligence, failed to make a timely application to participate  in  such
    11  optional  twenty  year  retirement  plan.  The city of Rensselaer may so
    12  elect by filing with the state comptroller, within six months  from  the
    13  effective  date of this act, a resolution of its local city common coun-
    14  cil together with  certification  that  such  firefighter  did  not  bar
    15  himself  from  participation  in such retirement plan as a result of his
    16  own negligence. Thereafter, such firefighter may elect to be covered  by
    17  the  provisions  of section 384-d and 384-e of the retirement and social
    18  security law, and shall be entitled to  the  full  rights  and  benefits
    19  associated with coverage under such section, by filing a request to that
    20  effect  with  the  state  comptroller  within the effective date of such
    21  resolution.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03516-03-2
        A. 5304--A                          2

     1    § 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the  contrary,  the
     2  city of Rensselaer, in the county of Rensselaer, a participating employ-
     3  er  in  the  New York state and local police and fire retirement system,
     4  which previously elected to offer the optional  twenty  year  retirement
     5  plan, established pursuant to section 384-d of the retirement and social
     6  security  law,  to firefighters employed by such city, is hereby author-
     7  ized to make participation in such plan available to  Mark  Hennessy,  a
     8  firefighter  employed  by  the  city  of Rensselaer with a start date of
     9  September 1, 2005, who for reasons not ascribable to his own negligence,
    10  failed to make a timely application  to  participate  in  such  optional
    11  twenty  year  retirement  plan.  The  city of Rensselaer may so elect by
    12  filing with the state comptroller, within six months from the  effective
    13  date  of this act, a resolution of its city common council together with
    14  certification that such firefighter did not  bar  himself  from  partic-
    15  ipation  in  such  retirement  plan  as  a result of his own negligence.
    16  Thereafter, such firefighter may elect to be covered by  the  provisions
    17  of  section  384-d  and 384-e of the retirement and social security law,
    18  and shall be entitled to the full rights and  benefits  associated  with
    19  coverage under such section, by filing a request to that effect with the
    20  state comptroller within the effective date of such resolution.
    21    §  3.  All  past  costs associated with implementing the provisions of
    22  this act shall be borne by the city of Rensselaer and may  be  amortized
    23  over a period of five years.
    24    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
          FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
          This  bill would allow the City of Rensselaer to reopen the provisions
        of Section 384-d together with  Section  384-e  of  the  Retirement  and
        Social  Security Law for firefighters William Schumaker and Mark Hennes-
        sy, current members of the New York State  and  Local  Police  and  Fire
        Retirement System.
          If this bill is enacted during the 2022 legislative session, and these
        two  firefighters  become covered under the provisions of sections 384-d
        and 384-e, we anticipate there will  be  an  increase  of  approximately
        $19,000  in  the  annual contributions of the City of Rensselaer for the
        fiscal year ending March 31, 2023. In future years, this cost will  vary
        as the billing rates and salaries of these firefighters change.
          In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
        an  immediate  past service cost of approximately $309,000 which will be
        borne by the City of Rensselaer as a one-time payment. This estimate  is
        based  on  the assumption that payment will be made on February 1, 2023.
        If the City of Rensselaer elects to amortize this cost  over  a  5  year
        period, the cost for the first year including interest would be $69,100.
          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.
          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.
        A. 5304--A                          3

          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  February  25,  2022, and intended for use only
        during the  2022  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No.  2022-79,
        prepared  by  the  Actuary  for  the New York State and Local Retirement
        System.