Bill Text: NY S06137 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Relates to certain lung disabilities incurred by members of the New York city transit authority in certain cases; provides that any lung condition resulting in partial disability or death to a member of the New York city transit authority, or its subsidiary corporation, where such member successfully passed a physical examination on entry into such service or subsequent thereto, which exam failed to reveal evidence of such condition, shall be presumed to have been incurred in the performance and discharge of duty.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO CIVIL SERVICE AND PENSIONS [S06137 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S06137-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6137--A 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE May 16, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to certain lung disabilities incurred by members of the New York city transit authority in certain cases The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The administrative code of the city of New York is amended 2 by adding a new section 13-168.1 to read as follows: 3 § 13-168.1 Transit authority members; presumption in certain diseases. 4 Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter or of any general, special 5 or local law to the contrary, and for the purposes of this chapter, any 6 condition of impairment of health caused by diseases of the lung, 7 resulting in total or partial disability or death to a member of the New 8 York city transit authority, or a member of its subsidiary corporation, 9 as defined in section twelve hundred three-a of the public authorities 10 law, where such member successfully passed a physical examination on 11 entry into such service or subsequent thereto, which examination failed 12 to reveal any evidence of such condition, shall be presumptive evidence 13 that it was incurred in the performance and discharge of duty. 14 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50: SUMMARY OF BILL: This proposed legislation would amend the Administra- tive Code of the City of New York (ACCNY) to add a new Section 13-168.1 to provide a statutory presumption to Tier 1 and Tier 2 members of the New York City Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS) who are Transit Authority employees, and who become physically incapacitated for performance of duty due to lung disease. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03331-02-9S. 6137--A 2 In determining whether disabling lung disease was caused by employment for the Transit Authority, the diagnosis of lung disease, absent evidence of such condition upon examination at hire, would be presump- tive evidence that such disability was incurred in the performance and discharge of duty. Effective Date: Upon enactment. FINANCIAL IMPACT - OVERVIEW: There is no data available to estimate the number of members who might develop and become disabled by lung disease, and potentially benefit from this proposed legislation. There- fore, the estimated financial impact has been calculated on a per event basis equal to the increase in the Present Value of Future Benefits (PVFB) for an average affected member who is diagnosed with lung disease as the result of the enactment of the proposed legislation and who would benefit from the proposed legislation. In determining the increase in the PVFB, it has been assumed that 100% of the members who would retire with lung disease would have continued working and eventually retired for service if the proposed legislation were not passed. With respect to an individual member, the additional cost of this proposed legislation varies greatly. FINANCIAL IMPACT - PRESENT VALUES: Based on the census data and the actuarial assumptions and methods described herein, the enactment of this proposed legislation would increase the PVFB by an amount ranging from $3,000 to $190,000 if one of the eight members who could benefit from the proposed legislation develops a qualifying lung disease. The average increase in PVFB for the eight members who could benefit from the proposed legislation is approximately $60,000. FINANCIAL IMPACT - ANNUAL EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS: Enactment of this proposed legislation would increase employer contributions, where such amount would depend on the number of members affected as well as other characteristics including the age, years of service, and salary history of each member. As there is no data currently available to estimate the number of members who might be diagnosed with disabling lung disease, the finan- cial impact would be recognized at the time of event. Consequently, changes in employer contributions have been estimated assuming that the increase in the PVFB will be financed over a time period comparable to that used for actuarial losses under the Entry Age Normal cost method. Using this approach, the additional PVFB would be amortized over a closed 15-year period (14 payments under the One-Year Lag Methodology) using level dollar payments. Based on the Actuary's actuarial assumptions and methods in effect as of June 30, 2018, the enactment of this proposed legislation is esti- mated to increase annual employer contributions by an amount ranging from $400 to $22,500 if one of the eight members who could benefit from the proposed legislation develops a qualifying lung disease. The average increase in annual employer contributions for the eight members who could benefit from the proposed legislation is approximately $6,800. With respect to the timing, increases in employer contributions would depend upon when members would retire due to lung disease but,generally, increased employer contributions will first occur the second fiscal year following approval of the accident disability retirement. OTHERS COSTS: Not measured in this Fiscal Note are the following: * The initial, additional administrative costs of NYCERS and other New York City agencies to implement the proposed legislation. * The impact of this proposed legislation on Other Postemployment Benefit (OPEB) costs.S. 6137--A 3 CENSUS DATA: The estimates presented herein are based on the census data used in the Preliminary June 30, 2018 (Lag) actuarial valuation of NYCERS to determine the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2020 employer contrib- utions. There are eight active Tier 1 and Tier 2 Transit Authority employees who participate in NYCERS as of June 30, 2018 who could potentially benefit from the proposed legislation. These eight active Tier 1 and Tier 2 Transit Authority members had an average age of approximately 73.8 years, average service of approximately 44.3 years, and an average salary of approximately $89,100. This group consisted of six Tier 1 members, and two Tier 2 members. ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The changes in the PVFB and annual employer contributions presented herein have been calculated based on the actuarial assumptions and methods in effect for the June 30, 2018 (Lag) actuarial valuations used to determine the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2020 employer contributions of NYCERS. RISK AND UNCERTAINTY: The costs presented in this Fiscal Note depend highly on the actuarial assumptions and methods used and are subject to change based on the realization of potential investment, demographic, contribution, and other risks. If actual experience deviates from actu- arial assumptions, the actual costs could differ from those presented herein. Costs are also dependent on the actuarial methods used, and therefore different actuarial methods could produce different results. Quantifying these risks is beyond the scope of this Fiscal Note. STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Sherry S. Chan, am the Chief Actu- ary for, and independent of, the New York City Retirement Systems and Pension Funds. I am a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, an Enrolled Actuary under the Employee Retirement Income and Security Act of 1974, a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and a Fellow of the Confer- ence of Consulting Actuaries. I meet the Qualification Standards of the American Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein. To the best of my knowledge, the results contained herein have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted actuarial principles and procedures and with the Actuarial Standards of Practice issued by the Actuarial Standards Board. FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This Fiscal Note 2019-32 dated June 7, 2019 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Employees' Retirement System. This estimate is intended for use only during the 2019 Legislative Session.
