S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9156
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                May 1, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. PALUMBO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
 
 AN ACT in relation to authorizing certain police officers in the town of
   Southold, county of Suffolk, to receive certain service  credit  under
   section 384-d of the retirement and social security law

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Notwithstanding any provisions of law to the contrary,  the
 town  of Southold, in the county of Suffolk, a participating employer in
 the New York state and local police and  fire  retirement  system  which
 previously  elected  to  offer  the optional twenty year retirement plan
 pursuant to section 384-d of the retirement and social security  law  to
 police  officers  employed  by  such  town, is hereby authorized to make
 participation in such plan available to Frank Lyburd III, a police offi-
 cer employed by the town of Southold with a starting date of October 20,
 2003, who, for reasons not  ascribable  to  their  own  negligence,  was
 enrolled  in  the  general retirement plan contained in section 375-i of
 the retirement and social security law.  Frank Lyburd III may  elect  to
 be  covered by the provisions of sections 384-d and 384-e of the retire-
 ment and social security law and full credit shall be  granted  in  such
 plan  for  such  service upon election of the town of Southold to assume
 the additional cost of such service.
   § 2. Notwithstanding any provisions of law to the contrary,  the  town
 of  Southold,  in the county of Suffolk, a participating employer in the
 New York state and local police and fire retirement system which  previ-
 ously elected to offer the optional twenty year retirement plan pursuant
 to  section  384-d  of  the retirement and social security law to police
 officers employed by such town, is hereby  authorized  to  make  partic-
 ipation  in  such plan available to Brian McNamara, Peter J. Jacobs, and
 Roman S. Wilinski, police officers employed by the town of Southold with
 a starting date of November 1, 2004, who, for reasons not ascribable  to
 their  own  negligence,  were  enrolled  in  the general retirement plan
 contained in section 375-i of the retirement and  social  security  law.
 Brian  McNamara, Peter J. Jacobs, and Roman S.  Wilinski may elect to be
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD15099-03-4
 S. 9156                             2
 
 covered by the provisions of sections 384-d and 384-e of the  retirement
 and  social  security  law and full credit shall be granted in such plan
 for such service upon election of the town of  Southold  to  assume  the
 additional cost of such service.
   §  3.  Notwithstanding any provisions of law to the contrary, the town
 of Southold, in the county of Suffolk, a participating employer  in  the
 New  York state and local police and fire retirement system which previ-
 ously elected to offer the optional twenty year retirement plan pursuant
 to section 384-d of the retirement and social  security  law  to  police
 officers  employed  by  such  town, is hereby authorized to make partic-
 ipation in such plan available to Alex U. Chenche and Tara Tandy, police
 officers employed by the town of Southold with a starting date of Decem-
 ber 15, 2014, who, for reasons not ascribable to their  own  negligence,
 were  enrolled in the general retirement plan contained in section 375-i
 of the retirement and social security law.   Alex U.  Chenche  and  Tara
 Tandy  may  elect  to be covered by the provisions of sections 384-d and
 384-e of the retirement and social security law and full credit shall be
 granted in such plan for such service upon election of the town of Sout-
 hold to assume the additional cost of such service.
   § 4. The town of Southold may so elect by filing with the state  comp-
 troller  within  six  months of the effective date of this act, a resol-
 ution of its legislative body, together  with  certification  that  such
 police  officers  did  not  bar  themselves  from  participation in such
 retirement plan as a result of their own  negligence.  Thereafter,  such
 police  officers  may  elect to be covered by the provisions of sections
 384-d and 384-e of the retirement and social security law, and shall  be
 entitled to full rights and benefits associated with coverage under such
 sections,  by filing a request to this effect with the state comptroller
 within one year of the effective date of this act.
   § 5. All costs associated with implementing the provisions of this act
 shall be borne by the town of Southold and may be amortized over a peri-
 od of five years.
   § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would allow the Town of Southold to reopen the provisions of
 Section 384-d, together with 384-e, of the Retirement and Social Securi-
 ty Law for police officers Frank Lyburd III, Brian  McNamara,  Peter  J.
 Jacobs,  Roman  S.  Wilinski,  Alex U. Chenche, and Tara Tandy. All past
 service costs will be borne by the Town of Southold and may be amortized
 over a period of five years.
   If this bill is enacted during the 2024 Legislative Session, we antic-
 ipate that there will be an increase of approximately  $110,000  in  the
 annual  contributions of the Town of Southold for the fiscal year ending
 March 31, 2025. In future years this cost will vary but is  expected  to
 average 11.0% of salary annually.
   In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
 an immediate past service cost of approximately $1.30 million which will
 be  borne  by  the Town of Southold as a one-time payment. This estimate
 assumes that payment will be made on February 1, 2025. If  the  Town  of
 Southold  elects to amortize this cost over a five-year period, the cost
 for each year including interest would be $291,000.
   These estimated costs are based on the six affected members  named  in
 the  bill  and  employed  by the Town of Southold, with annual salary of
 approximately $915,000 as of March 31, 2023.
   Summary of relevant resources:
 S. 9156                             3
 
   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 April 12, 2024, and intended for use only during
 the 2024 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2024-160,  prepared  by
 the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.