S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                   548

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                               (PREFILED)

                             January 7, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced by M. of A. JACOBS, BRADLEY -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
  JOHN,  J. RIVERA, WRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Committee on
  Governmental Operations

AN ACT to amend the military law, in  relation  to  affording  uniformed
  personnel  who assist police officers, serving in foreign countries on
  behalf of the United States government the same  protection  as  other
  public employees serving in the military

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 243 of the  mili-
tary  law,  as amended by chapter 248 of the laws of 2001, is amended to
read as follows:
  (b) The term "military duty" shall mean military service in the  mili-
tary,  naval, aviation or marine service of the United States subsequent
to July first, nineteen hundred forty, or service  under  the  selective
training  and  service  act  of  nineteen hundred forty, or the national
guard and reserve officers mobilization act of nineteen  hundred  forty,
or any other act of congress supplementary or amendatory thereto, or any
similar  act  of congress hereafter enacted and irrespective of the fact
that such service was entered  upon  following  a  voluntary  enlistment
therefor or was required under one of the foregoing acts of congress, or
service  with  the United States public health service as a commissioned
officer, or service with the American Red Cross  while  with  the  armed
forces  of  the  United  States  on foreign service, or service with the
special services section of the armed forces of  the  United  States  on
foreign  service,  or service in the merchant marine which shall consist
of service as an officer or member of the crew on or in connection  with
a  vessel  documented  under  the  laws of the United States or a vessel
owned by, chartered to, or operated by or for the account or use of  the
government  of  the United States, or service by one who was employed by

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                           LBD02156-01-9

A. 548                              2

the War Shipping Administration or Office of Defense  Transportation  or
their  agents as a merchant seaman documented by the United States Coast
Guard or Department of Commerce, or as a civil servant employed  by  the
United  States  Army Transport Service (later redesignated as the United
States Army Transportation Corps, Water Division) or the Naval Transpor-
tation Service; and who served satisfactorily as a  crew  member  during
the  period of armed conflict, December seventh, nineteen hundred forty-
one, to August fifteenth, nineteen hundred forty-five,  aboard  merchant
vessels in oceangoing, i.e., foreign, intercoastal, or coastwise service
as  such terms are defined under federal law (46 USCA 10301 & 10501) and
further to include "near foreign" voyages between the United States  and
Canada,  Mexico,  or the West Indies via ocean routes, or public vessels
in oceangoing service or foreign waters and who has received  a  Certif-
icate  of  Release or Discharge from Active Duty and a discharge certif-
icate, or an Honorable Service Certificate/Report of Casualty, from  the
Department  of  Defense,  or  who  served  as  a  United States civilian
employed by the American Field Service and served overseas under  United
States  Armies  and United States Army Groups in world war II during the
period of armed conflict, December seventh, nineteen  hundred  forty-one
through  May eighth, nineteen hundred forty-five, and who was discharged
or released therefrom under honorable conditions, or  who  served  as  a
United  States civilian Flight Crew and Aviation Ground Support Employee
of Pan American World Airways or one of its subsidiaries or  its  affil-
iates  and  served  overseas as a result of Pan American's contract with
Air Transport Command or Naval Air Transport Service during  the  period
of  armed  conflict,  December  fourteenth,  nineteen  hundred forty-one
through August fourteenth, nineteen  hundred  forty-five,  and  who  was
discharged  or released therefrom under honorable conditions; or service
in police duty on behalf of the United States government  in  a  foreign
country, if such person is a PEACE OFFICER OR police officer, as defined
by section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, and if such PEACE OFFICER
OR  police  officer  obtained  the  prior  consent  of his or her public
employer to absent himself or herself from his or her position to engage
in the performance of such service; OR SERVICE AS AN INTERPRETER ASSIST-
ING PERSONS IN POLICE DUTY ON BEHALF OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT  IN
A  FOREIGN  COUNTRY, IF SUCH INTERPRETER WAS ON LEAVE FROM A POSITION IN
THE UNIFORMED FORCE  OF  A  PUBLIC  EMPLOYER  AND  IF  SUCH  INTERPRETER
OBTAINED  THE  PRIOR  CONSENT  OF  HIS  OR HER PUBLIC EMPLOYER TO ABSENT
HIMSELF OR HERSELF FROM HIS OR HER POSITION TO ENGAGE IN THE PERFORMANCE
OF SUCH SERVICE; or as an enrollee in the United States maritime service
on active duty and, to such extent as may be prescribed by or under  the
laws  of  the  United  States,  any  period  awaiting assignment to such
service and any period of education or training for such service in  any
school  or  institution  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the United States
government, but shall not include temporary and intermittent  gratuitous
service  in  any reserve or auxiliary force. It shall include time spent
in reporting for and returning from military duty and shall be deemed to
commence when the public employee leaves his OR HER position and to  end
when he OR SHE is reinstated to his OR HER position, provided such rein-
statement  is within ninety days after the termination of military duty,
as hereinafter defined.   Notwithstanding the  foregoing  provisions  of
this  paragraph,  the  term "military duty" shall not include any of the
foregoing services entered upon voluntarily on or after  January  first,
nineteen  hundred  forty-seven  and  before  June twenty-fifth, nineteen
hundred fifty; and, on or after July first,  nineteen  hundred  seventy,
the  term  "military  duty"  shall  not include any voluntary service in

A. 548                              3

excess of four years performed after that date,  or  the  total  of  any
voluntary  services,  additional  or  otherwise, in excess of four years
performed after that date, shall not exceed five years, if  the  service
in excess of four years is at the request and for the convenience of the
federal government, except if such voluntary service is performed during
a period of war, or national emergency declared by the president.
  S 2. Notwithstanding subdivision 4 of section 243 of the military law,
a  person whose military duty entailed service as an interpreter assist-
ing persons in police duty on behalf of the United States government  in
a  foreign  country  shall  be  permitted  to  make contributions to the
retirement system of which he or she is a member within five years  from
the  effective  date  of  this act or five years from the termination of
such service, whichever is later, for the purposes of obtaining  retire-
ment credit as provided in such subdivision.
  S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.