Bill Text: NY S09294 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Extends the deadline for filing disability claims for a qualifying World Trade Center condition.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2022-09-09 - SIGNED CHAP.561 [S09294 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S09294-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9294

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 12, 2022
                                       ___________

        Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions

        AN  ACT to amend the retirement and social security law and the workers'
          compensation law, in relation  to  participants  in  the  World  Trade
          Center rescue

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

     1    Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 36 of section 2 of the retire-
     2  ment and social security law, as amended by chapter 425 of the  laws  of
     3  2021, is amended to read as follows:
     4    (a)  "Qualifying World Trade Center condition" shall mean a qualifying
     5  condition or impairment of health resulting in disability  to  a  member
     6  who participated in World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup oper-
     7  ations  for  a  qualifying  period,  as  those  terms are defined below,
     8  provided the following conditions have been met:  (i)  such  member,  or
     9  eligible beneficiary in the case of the member's death, must have either
    10  filed  a written and sworn statement with the member's retirement system
    11  on a form provided by such system, or as allowed by the member's retire-
    12  ment system, electronically submitted a statement on a form provided  by
    13  such  system  through  a secure online portal maintained by the member's
    14  retirement system that has duly validated the member's  identity,  indi-
    15  cating  the  underlying dates and locations of employment not later than
    16  September eleventh, two thousand [twenty-two] twenty-six, and (ii)  such
    17  member  has  either successfully passed a physical examination for entry
    18  into public service, or  authorized  release  of  all  relevant  medical
    19  records,  if the member did not undergo a physical examination for entry
    20  into public service; and (iii) there is no evidence  of  the  qualifying
    21  condition or impairment of health that formed the basis for the disabil-
    22  ity in such physical examination for entry into public service or in the
    23  relevant  medical records, prior to September eleventh, two thousand one
    24  except for such member, or eligible  beneficiary  in  the  case  of  the
    25  member's death, of a local retirement system of a city with a population
    26  of one million or more that is covered by section 13-551 of the adminis-
    27  trative  code of the city of New York, or by section twenty-five hundred

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15446-05-2
        S. 9294                             2

     1  seventy-five of the education law and for such member who separated from
     2  service with vested rights, or eligible beneficiary of such  member  who
     3  separated  from  service  with vested rights in the case of the member's
     4  death,  of  a local retirement system of a city with a population of one
     5  million or more who are covered by sections 13-168, 13-252.1 or 13-353.1
     6  of the administrative code of the city of  New  York  or  sections  five
     7  hundred  seven-c, six hundred five-b, six hundred five-c, or six hundred
     8  seven-b of this chapter. The deadline for filing  a  written  and  sworn
     9  statement  required  by  subparagraph  (i)  of  this  paragraph shall be
    10  September  eleventh,  two  thousand  [twenty-two]  twenty-six  for  such
    11  member,  or eligible beneficiary in the case of the member's death, of a
    12  local retirement system of a city with a population of  one  million  or
    13  more that is covered by section 13-551 of the administrative code of the
    14  city  of New York, or by section twenty-five hundred seventy-five of the
    15  education law and for such member who separated from service with vested
    16  rights, or eligible  beneficiary  of  such  member  who  separated  from
    17  service with vested rights in the case of the member's death, of a local
    18  retirement system of a city with a population of one million or more who
    19  are  covered by sections 13-168, 13-252.1 or 13-353.1 of the administra-
    20  tive code of the city of New York and sections five hundred seven-c, six
    21  hundred five-b, six hundred five-c, or six hundred seven-b of this chap-
    22  ter. Every retirement system shall keep a  copy  of  every  written  and
    23  sworn  statement  that  is presented for filing not later than September
    24  eleventh, two thousand [twenty-two] twenty-six, including those that are
    25  rejected for filing as untimely.
    26    § 2. Section 162 of the workers' compensation law, as amended by chap-
    27  ter 266 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows:
    28    § 162. Registration of participation in  World  Trade  Center  rescue,
    29  recovery  and  clean-up  operations. In order for the claim of a partic-
    30  ipant in World Trade Center rescue, recovery and clean-up operations  to
    31  come  within the application of this article, such participant must file
    32  a written and sworn statement with the board on a  form  promulgated  by
    33  the  chair  indicating the dates and locations of such participation and
    34  the name of such participant's employer during  the  period  of  partic-
    35  ipation. Such statement must be filed not later than September eleventh,
    36  two thousand [twenty-two] twenty-six. The board shall transmit a copy of
    37  such  statement  to the employer or carrier named therein. The filing of
    38  such a statement shall not be considered the filing of a claim for bene-
    39  fits under this chapter.
    40    § 3. Section 168 of the workers' compensation law is amended by adding
    41  a new subdivision 5 to read as follows:
    42    5. A claim by a participant in the World Trade Center rescue, recovery
    43  or cleanup operations whose disablement occurred between September elev-
    44  enth, two thousand seventeen, and September eleventh, two thousand twen-
    45  ty-one, shall not be disallowed as barred by section eighteen or section
    46  twenty-eight of this chapter if such claim is filed on or before Septem-
    47  ber eleventh, two thousand twenty-six. Any such claim by  a  participant
    48  in  the  World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup operations whose
    49  disablement occurred between September eleventh, two thousand seventeen,
    50  and September eleventh, two thousand twenty-one, and was  disallowed  by
    51  section  eighteen  or twenty-eight of this chapter shall be reconsidered
    52  by the board.
    53    § 4. Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, none of  the
    54  provisions  of this act shall be subject to section 25 of the retirement
    55  and social security law.
        S. 9294                             3

     1    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately and  shall  be  deemed  to
     2  have  been  in  full  force  and effect on and after September 11, 2001;
     3  provided, however, that the amendments to sections 162 and  168  of  the
     4  workers'  compensation  law  made by sections two and three of this act,
     5  respectively,  shall  apply  to all open and closed claims coming within
     6  its purview.
          FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
          This bill would amend chapter 93 of the Laws of 2005 and  chapter  445
        of  the Laws of 2006, which provided that, for members of public retire-
        ment systems who contract any form of disease related to exposure to any
        elements connected to the World Trade Center (WTC) attack  of  September
        11,  2001,  resulting  in  disability or death, said disability or death
        will be presumed to be a result of an  accident  and  sustained  in  the
        performance of duty
          Insofar  as  this bill affects the New York State and Local Employees'
        Retirement System (NYSLERS) and the New York State and Local Police  and
        Fire  Retirement  System (NYSLPFRS), if enacted during the 2022 legisla-
        tive session, this legislation would  extend  the  deadline  for  filing
        notice  regarding  the  eligibility for benefits for certain members who
        participated in the World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup oper-
        ation to September 11, 2026.
          By extending the deadline  for  filing  notice,  certain  current  and
        future  retirement  benefits  would  be reclassified as a WTC accidental
        disability.  The cost of the revised benefit will depend upon the appli-
        cant's age, service, salary, plan, and benefit type otherwise payable.
        Benefit without        None      Ordinary     Performance of    Service
        enactment:                       Disability   Duty Disability

        Cost for WTC benefit:  10 times  5.5 times    3 times           2 times
                               salary    salary       salary            salary
          This bill would also lead to more deaths being  classified  as  "acci-
        dental".  For  each death classified as accidental due to this bill, the
        cost would depend on the age, service, salary, plan, and status  of  the
        member  at time of death. It is estimated that the cost for each NYSLERS
        and NYSLPFRS participant affected would average approximately 4.5  times
        final average salary and 13 times final average salary, respectively.
          The  provisions  of  this act will not be subject to Section 25 of the
        Retirement and Social Security Law. Therefore, all costs would be shared
        by the State of New York and the participating employers in the  NYSLERS
        and NYSLPFRS.
          The  exact  number  of  current  and  future participants who could be
        affected by this legislation cannot be readily determined.
          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.
        S. 9294                             4

          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 May 2, 2022, and intended for use only during the
        2022  Legislative  Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2022-130, prepared by the
        Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.