Bill Text: NY A09959 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Relates to the retirement of certain members employed as an emergency medical technician, critical care technician, advanced emergency medical technician, paramedic or supervisor of such titles in a participating Suffolk county fire district.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-03 - RETURNED TO ASSEMBLY [A09959 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A09959-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9959

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     April 26, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. STERN -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Governmental Employees

        AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in  relation  to
          the retirement of members employed as an emergency medical technician,
          critical  care  technician,  advanced  emergency  medical  technician,
          paramedic or supervisor of such  titles  in  a  participating  Suffolk
          county fire district

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

     1    Section 1. Subdivisions a and j of section 89-ss of the retirement and
     2  social security law, as added by chapter 714 of the laws  of  2023,  are
     3  amended to read as follows:
     4    a. Any member employed on or after December eighth, two thousand twen-
     5  ty-three  as  an emergency medical technician, critical care technician,
     6  advanced emergency medical technician, paramedic or supervisor  of  such
     7  titles  upon an election by a participating Suffolk county fire district
     8  shall be eligible to retire pursuant to the provisions of this  section.
     9  Such  eligibility  shall be an alternative to the eligibility provisions
    10  available under any other plan of this article to which such  member  is
    11  subject.
    12    j.  [Any  member who, on or before the effective date of this section,
    13  is employed as an emergency medical technician,  critical  care  techni-
    14  cian,  advanced emergency medical technician, paramedic or supervisor of
    15  such titles in a participating Suffolk  county  fire  district  may,  by
    16  filing  an  election  within  one  year after the effective date of this
    17  section, elect to be subject to the provisions  of  this  section.  Such
    18  election  shall be in writing, shall be duly executed and filed with the
    19  comptroller and shall be irrevocable.]  (1)  Each  Suffolk  county  fire
    20  district  that  elects  pursuant  to  the provisions of this subdivision
    21  shall pay the cost attributable therefor.
    22    (2) The benefits of this section shall  be  available  only  to  those
    23  members  defined  in subdivisions a and d of this section whose employer
    24  elects to provide such benefits by adopting a resolution to such  effect
    25  and  filing  a  certified copy thereof with the comptroller. Such resol-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14934-02-4
        A. 9959                             2

     1  ution shall be accompanied by the affidavit of the chief executive offi-
     2  cer of the fire district that the fire district has received an estimate
     3  from the retirement system of the cost of the benefit provided  by  this
     4  section.
     5    (3) Such resolution shall apply to all members defined in subdivisions
     6  a and d of this section.
     7    § 2. Subdivision v of section 603 of the retirement and social securi-
     8  ty  law, as added by chapter 714 of the laws of 2023, is amended to read
     9  as follows:
    10    v. The service retirement benefit specified  in  section  six  hundred
    11  four  of this article shall be payable to members with twenty-five years
    12  of creditable service, without regard to age,  who  are  employed  by  a
    13  participating  fire  district  that  makes  the election provided for in
    14  subdivision j of section eighty-nine-ss of this chapter as an  emergency
    15  medical technician, critical care technician, advanced emergency medical
    16  technician,  paramedic  or  supervisor of such titles in a participating
    17  Suffolk county fire district as defined  in  section  eighty-nine-ss  of
    18  this  chapter if: (i) such members have met the minimum service require-
    19  ments upon retirement; and (ii) in the case of a member subject  to  the
    20  provisions  of  article  fourteen  of this chapter, such member files an
    21  election therefor which provides that [he or she] such  member  will  be
    22  subject  to the provisions of this article and to none of the provisions
    23  of such article fourteen. Such election,  which  shall  be  irrevocable,
    24  shall  be  in  writing,  duly executed and shall be filed with the comp-
    25  troller within one year of [the effective date of this subdivision]  the
    26  election  such  member's  employer  makes  pursuant  to subdivision j of
    27  section eighty-nine-ss or within one year after entering the  employment
    28  with the participating Suffolk county fire district upon which eligibil-
    29  ity  is  based, whichever comes later. For the purposes of this subdivi-
    30  sion, the term "creditable service" shall have the meaning as so defined
    31  in both sections eighty-nine-ss and six hundred one of this chapter.
    32    §  3.  All  past  service  costs  associated  with  implementing   the
    33  provisions of this act shall be borne by the participating Suffolk coun-
    34  ty fire district.
    35    §  4.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to
    36  have been in full force and effect on December 8, 2023.
          FISCAL NOTE.-- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
          This bill is a technical correction to Chapter  714  of  the  Laws  of
        2023.   It would allow fire districts in Suffolk County that participate
        in the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement System to elect to
        provide individuals employed in the title of emergency  medical  techni-
        cian,  advanced  emergency medical technician, critical care technician,
        or paramedic, and supervisors of these titles, the option to retire upon
        completion of twenty-five years of creditable service with a benefit  of
        one-half  of  final  average  salary  (FAS) and an additional benefit of
        one-sixtieth of FAS for each year of creditable  service  in  excess  of
        twenty-five  years.  Members in Tiers 3 - 6 would be limited to 15 years
        of additional one-sixtieths.
          As a technical amendment to Chapter 714  of  the  Laws  of  2023,  the
        fiscal  costs  quoted  for that bill still apply. There is no additional
        cost associated with this bill.
          The exact number of current members as  well  as  future  members  who
        could  be  affected  by  this  legislation cannot be readily determined.
        Prior to electing to provide these benefits, an eligible  fire  district
        would be required to submit a roster of individuals in covered titles to
        the  New  York  State  and Local Retirement System. This roster would be
        A. 9959                             3

        used to develop an exact cost for the individual fire district  electing
        to provide these benefits.
          Summary of relevant resources:
          Membership  data as of March 31, 2023 was used in measuring the impact
        of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2023 actuari-
        al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can  be  found  in  the
        2023  Report  of the Actuary and the 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial
        Report.
          The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in  the  2023
        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, 2023
        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 March 29, 2024, and intended for use only  during
        the  2024  Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2024-154, prepared by
        the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.