S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7080
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              April 21, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  MONTESANO  --  read once and referred to the
   Committee on Governmental Employees
 
 AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in  relation  to
   calculating the final average salary of justices and judges within the
   New York state unified court system

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 9 of section 2 of  the  retirement  and  social
 security law is amended by adding a new paragraph d to read as follows:
   D. IN THE CASE OF A MEMBER WHO:
   (1) SERVED AS AN ELECTED OR APPOINTED JUSTICE OR JUDGE OF THE NEW YORK
 STATE UNIFIED COURT SYSTEM, AND
   (2)  WAS PAID PURSUANT TO THE SALARY SET BY THE COMMISSION OF JUDICIAL
 COMPENSATION, AND
   (3) SHALL HAVE SERVED AT LEAST THREE YEARS OF  THE  JUDICIAL  TERM  TO
 WHICH  HE  OR SHE WAS APPOINTED OR ELECTED, SUCH TERM SHALL MEAN, AT THE
 OPTION OF SUCH MEMBER, THE LAST SALARY SET BY THE COMMISSION ON JUDICIAL
 COMPENSATION FOR THE YEAR IN WHICH SAID MEMBER LAST SERVED.
   § 2. Section 443 of the retirement and social security law is  amended
 by adding a new subdivision h to read as follows:
   H.  NOTWITHSTANDING  THE  PROVISIONS  OF  SUBDIVISIONS A AND B OF THIS
 SECTION, WITH RESPECT TO A MEMBER WHO SERVED AS AN ELECTED OR  APPOINTED
 JUSTICE  OR  JUDGE  OF  THE NEW YORK STATE UNIFIED COURT SYSTEM, WHO WAS
 PAID PURSUANT TO THE SALARY SET BY THE COMMISSION  ON  JUDICIAL  COMPEN-
 SATION,  AND  WHO SHALL HAVE SERVED AT LEAST THREE YEARS OF THE JUDICIAL
 TERM TO WHICH HE OR SHE WAS APPOINTED  OR  ELECTED,  THE  FINAL  AVERAGE
 SALARY  SHALL MEAN, AT THE OPTION OF SUCH MEMBER, THE LAST SALARY SET BY
 THE COMMISSION ON JUDICIAL COMPENSATION  FOR  THE  YEAR  IN  WHICH  SAID
 MEMBER LAST SERVED.
   §  3. Section 512 of the retirement and social security law is amended
 by adding a new subdivision e to read as follows:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD08633-02-1

 A. 7080                             2
 
   E. NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISIONS  A  AND  B  OF  THIS
 SECTION,  WITH RESPECT TO A MEMBER WHO SERVED AS AN ELECTED OR APPOINTED
 JUSTICE OR JUDGE OF THE NEW YORK STATE UNIFIED  COURT  SYSTEM,  WHO  WAS
 PAID  PURSUANT  TO  THE SALARY SET BY THE COMMISSION ON JUDICIAL COMPEN-
 SATION,  AND  WHO SHALL HAVE SERVED AT LEAST THREE YEARS OF THE JUDICIAL
 TERM TO WHICH HE OR SHE WAS APPOINTED  OR  ELECTED,  THE  FINAL  AVERAGE
 SALARY  SHALL MEAN, AT THE OPTION OF SUCH MEMBER, THE LAST SALARY SET BY
 THE COMMISSION ON JUDICIAL COMPENSATION  FOR  THE  YEAR  IN  WHICH  SAID
 MEMBER LAST SERVED.
   §  4. Section 608 of the retirement and social security law is amended
 by adding a new subdivision f to read as follows:
   F. NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISIONS  A  AND  B  OF  THIS
 SECTION,  WITH RESPECT TO A MEMBER WHO SERVED AS AN ELECTED OR APPOINTED
 JUSTICE OR JUDGE OF THE NEW YORK STATE UNIFIED  COURT  SYSTEM,  WHO  WAS
 PAID  PURSUANT  TO  THE SALARY SET BY THE COMMISSION ON JUDICIAL COMPEN-
 SATION, AND WHO SHALL HAVE SERVED AT LEAST THREE YEARS OF  THE  JUDICIAL
 TERM  TO  WHICH  HE  OR  SHE WAS APPOINTED OR ELECTED, THE FINAL AVERAGE
 SALARY SHALL MEAN, AT THE OPTION OF SUCH MEMBER, THE LAST SALARY SET  BY
 THE  COMMISSION  ON  JUDICIAL  COMPENSATION  FOR  THE YEAR IN WHICH SAID
 MEMBER LAST SERVED.
   § 5. All past service costs associated with the implementation of this
 act shall be borne by the state.
   § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would allow any member who served as an elected or appointed
 justice or judge of the New York State  Unified  Court  System  to  have
 their  final  average  salary determined using the rate of salary set by
 the Commission on Judicial Compensation for the year in which the member
 last served.
   If this bill is enacted during the 2021 legislative session, we antic-
 ipate that there will be an increase of approximately  $2.7  million  in
 the  annual  contributions  of the State of New York for the fiscal year
 ending March 31, 2022.   In future years, this cost  will  vary  as  the
 billing rates and salary of the affected members change.
   In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
 an immediate past service cost of approximately $60.8 million which will
 be  borne  by the State of New York as a one-time payment. This estimate
 is based on the assumption that payment will be made on March 1, 2022.
   These estimated costs are based on 1203 affected members  employed  by
 the  State of New York, with annual salary of approximately $235 million
 as of March 31, 2020. The affected members  were  identified  using  job
 title codes provided by the Office of Court Administration.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership  data as of March 31, 2020 was used in measuring the impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2020 actuari-
 al valuation. Distributions and other statistics can  be  found  in  the
 2020  Report  of the Actuary and the 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial
 Report.
   The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in  the  2020
 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, 2020
 New  York  State  and  Local  Retirement System Financial Statements and
 Supplementary Information.

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   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 April 6, 2021, and intended for use only during
 the 2021 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2021-117,  prepared  by
 the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.