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

                                 7958--A

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              June 2, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  ABBATE, GOLDFEDER, SALADINO -- read once and
  referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees -- recommitted  to
  the  Committee  on  Governmental Employees in accordance with Assembly
  Rule  3,  sec.  2  --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered
  reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

AN  ACT  to  amend  the workers' compensation law and the retirement and
  social security 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:

  Section 1. Section 162 of the workers' compensation law, as amended by
section 489 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
  S 162. Registration of participation in  World  Trade  Center  rescue,
recovery  and  clean-up  operations. In order for the claim of a partic-
ipant in World Trade Center rescue, recovery and clean-up operations  to
come  within the application of this article, such participant must file
a written and sworn statement with the board on a  form  promulgated  by
the  chair  indicating the dates and locations of such participation and
the name of such participant's employer during  the  period  of  partic-
ipation. Such statement must be filed not later than September eleventh,
two  thousand  [fourteen] EIGHTEEN.   The board shall transmit a copy of
such statement to the employer or carrier named therein. The  filing  of
such a statement shall not be considered the filing of a claim for bene-
fits under this chapter.
  S 2. Section 168 of the workers' compensation law is amended by adding
a new subdivision 3 to read as follows:
  3. A CLAIM BY A PARTICIPANT IN THE WORLD TRADE CENTER RESCUE, RECOVERY
OR CLEANUP OPERATIONS WHOSE DISABLEMENT OCCURRED BETWEEN SEPTEMBER ELEV-
ENTH, TWO THOUSAND TWELVE, AND SEPTEMBER ELEVENTH, TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN,
SHALL  NOT  BE DISALLOWED AS BARRED BY SECTION EIGHTEEN OR SECTION TWEN-
TY-EIGHT OF THIS CHAPTER IF SUCH CLAIM IS FILED ON OR  BEFORE  SEPTEMBER

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD11342-04-6
              

A. 7958--A                          2

ELEVENTH,  TWO THOUSAND EIGHTEEN. ANY SUCH CLAIM BY A PARTICIPANT IN THE
WORLD TRADE CENTER RESCUE, RECOVERY OR CLEANUP OPERATIONS WHOSE DISABLE-
MENT OCCURRED BETWEEN  SEPTEMBER  ELEVENTH,  TWO  THOUSAND  TWELVE,  AND
SEPTEMBER  ELEVENTH, TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN, AND WAS DISALLOWED BY SECTION
EIGHTEEN OR TWENTY-EIGHT OF THIS CHAPTER SHALL BE  RECONSIDERED  BY  THE
BOARD.
  S  3.  Paragraph  (a) of subdivision 36 of section 2 of the retirement
and social security law, as amended by chapter 472 of the laws of  2014,
is amended to read as follows:
  (a)  "Qualifying World Trade Center condition" shall mean a qualifying
condition or impairment of health resulting in disability  to  a  member
who participated in World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup oper-
ations  for  a  qualifying  period,  as  those  terms are defined below,
provided the following conditions have been met:  (i)  such  member,  or
eligible  beneficiary in the case of the member's death, must have filed
a written and sworn statement with the member's retirement system  on  a
form  provided  by  such  system  indicating  the  underlying  dates and
locations of employment not later than September eleventh, two  thousand
[fifteen]  EIGHTEEN, and (ii) such member has either successfully passed
a physical examination for entry  into  public  service,  or  authorized
release of all relevant medical records, if the member did not undergo a
physical  examination  for entry into public service; and (iii) there is
no evidence of the qualifying condition or  impairment  of  health  that
formed  the  basis  for  the disability in such physical examination for
entry into public service or in the relevant medical records,  prior  to
September eleventh, two thousand one except for such member, or eligible
beneficiary  in  the  case  of the member's death, of a local retirement
system of a city with a population  of  one  million  or  more  that  is
covered  by section 13-551 of the administrative code of the city of New
York, or by section twenty-five hundred seventy-five  of  the  education
law  and  for such member who separated from service with vested rights,
or eligible beneficiary of such member who separated from  service  with
vested  rights  in the case of the member's death, of a local retirement
system of a city with a population  of  one  million  or  more  who  are
covered  by  sections 13-168, 13-252.1 or 13-353.1 of the administrative
code of the city of New York  or  sections  five  hundred  seven-c,  six
hundred five-b, six hundred five-c, or six hundred seven-b of this chap-
ter.  The  deadline for filing a written and sworn statement required by
subparagraph (i) of this paragraph  shall  be  September  eleventh,  two
thousand [fourteen] EIGHTEEN for such member, or eligible beneficiary in
the  case  of the member's death, of a local retirement system of a city
with a population of one million or more  that  is  covered  by  section
13-551 of the administrative code of the city of New York, or by section
twenty-five  hundred  seventy-five  of  the  education  law and for such
member who separated from service with vested rights, or eligible  bene-
ficiary  of such member who separated from service with vested rights in
the case of the member's death, of a local retirement system of  a  city
with  a  population  of  one million or more who are covered by sections
13-168, 13-252.1 or 13-353.1 of the administrative code of the  city  of
New  York  and  sections  five  hundred seven-c, six hundred five-b, six
hundred five-c, or six hundred seven-b of this chapter. Every retirement
system shall keep a copy of every written and sworn  statement  that  is
presented  for  filing  not  later than September eleventh, two thousand
[fifteen] EIGHTEEN, including those that  are  rejected  for  filing  as
untimely.

A. 7958--A                          3

  S  4. Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, none of the
provisions of this act shall be subject to section 25 of the  retirement
and social security law.
  S  5.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to
have been in full force and effect on  and  after  September  11,  2001;
provided,  however,  that  the amendments to sections 162 and 168 of the
workers' compensation law made by sections one  and  two  of  this  act,
respectively,  shall  apply  to all open and closed claims coming within
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 members of public retirement systems
who  contract  any  form of disease or disability related to exposure to
any elements in connection  with  the  World  Trade  Center  tragedy  of
September  11,  2001 to be presumptive evidence that such disability, or
death as a result of such disability was the result of an  accident  and
was  sustained  in  the performance of duty.  The provisions of this act
will not be subject to Section 25 of the Retirement and Social  Security
Law.
  Insofar as this bill would affect the New York State and Local Employ-
ees' Retirement and the New York State and Local Police and Fire Retire-
ment  System,  this  bill  would  extend  the deadline for filing notice
regarding the eligibility for benefits for certain members  who  partic-
ipated  in  the World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup operation
to September 11, 2018.
  If this bill is enacted, it would  lead  to  more  disabilities  being
classified as "in performance of duty" or "accidental". For the disabil-
ities  so classified due to this bill, the cost would depend on the age,
service, salary and plan of the affected member or retiree, as  well  as
whether  such person would have otherwise been eligible for, or has been
receiving an ordinary disability, a performance of duty disability or  a
service retirement. For those who contract such disease prior to retire-
ment,  it  is estimated that there could be per person one-time costs of
as much as 5 times salary. For those who contract  such  disease  subse-
quent  to  a  service retirement, it is estimated that there would be an
average per person cost of approximately 2 times final  average  salary.
For those who contract such disease subsequent to an ordinary disability
retirement,  it  is  estimated that there would be an average per person
cost of approximately 5 times final average 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 and plan of  the  affected
individual,  as  well as whether such person was an active member or has
been receiving an ordinary disability, a performance of duty disability,
an accidental disability or a service retirement. It is  estimated  that
the cost for each ERS and PFRS individual affected would average approx-
imately 3.5 times final average salary and 8 times final average salary,
respectively.
  These  costs  would be shared by the State of New York and the partic-
ipating employers in the ERS and PFRS.
  Summary of relevant resources:
  The membership data used in  measuring  the  impact  of  the  proposed
change  was  the same as that used in the March 31, 2015 actuarial valu-
ation.  Distributions and other statistics can  be  found  in  the  2015
Report  of  the  Actuary  and  the  2015  Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.

A. 7958--A                          4

  The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in  the  2015
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, 2015
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 estimate, dated February 16, 2016,  and  intended  for  use  only
during  the  2016  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No. 2016-62,
prepared by the Actuary for the New  York  State  and  Local  Retirement
System.

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

                                 7958--B

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              June 2, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  ABBATE,  GOLDFEDER, SALADINO, COLTON, AUBRY,
  MALLIOTAKIS, ORTIZ, CERETTO, SKOUFIS -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
  GALEF, MARKEY, THIELE -- read once and referred to  the  Committee  on
  Governmental Employees -- recommitted to the Committee on Governmental
  Employees  in  accordance  with  Assembly  Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee
  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
  to said committee -- reported and referred to the  Committee  on  Ways
  and  Means -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
  amended and recommitted to said committee

AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law  and  the  retirement  and
  social  security  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:

  Section 1. Section 162 of the workers' compensation law, as amended by
section 489 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
  S  162.  Registration  of  participation in World Trade Center rescue,
recovery and clean-up operations. In order for the claim  of  a  partic-
ipant  in World Trade Center rescue, recovery and clean-up operations to
come within the application of this article, such participant must  file
a  written  and  sworn statement with the board on a form promulgated by
the chair indicating the dates and locations of such  participation  and
the  name  of  such  participant's employer during the period of partic-
ipation. Such statement must be filed not later than September eleventh,
two thousand [fourteen] EIGHTEEN.  The board shall transmit  a  copy  of
such  statement  to the employer or carrier named therein. The filing of
such a statement shall not be considered the filing of a claim for bene-
fits under this chapter.
  S 2. Section 168 of the workers' compensation law is amended by adding
a new subdivision 3 to read as follows:

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD11342-06-6

              

A. 7958--B                          2

  3. A CLAIM BY A PARTICIPANT IN THE WORLD TRADE CENTER RESCUE, RECOVERY
OR CLEANUP OPERATIONS WHOSE DISABLEMENT OCCURRED BETWEEN SEPTEMBER ELEV-
ENTH, TWO THOUSAND TWELVE, AND SEPTEMBER ELEVENTH, TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN,
SHALL NOT BE DISALLOWED AS BARRED BY SECTION EIGHTEEN OR  SECTION  TWEN-
TY-EIGHT  OF  THIS CHAPTER IF SUCH CLAIM IS FILED ON OR BEFORE SEPTEMBER
ELEVENTH, TWO THOUSAND EIGHTEEN. ANY SUCH CLAIM BY A PARTICIPANT IN  THE
WORLD TRADE CENTER RESCUE, RECOVERY OR CLEANUP OPERATIONS WHOSE DISABLE-
MENT  OCCURRED  BETWEEN  SEPTEMBER  ELEVENTH,  TWO  THOUSAND TWELVE, AND
SEPTEMBER ELEVENTH, TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN, AND WAS DISALLOWED BY  SECTION
EIGHTEEN  OR  TWENTY-EIGHT  OF THIS CHAPTER SHALL BE RECONSIDERED BY THE
BOARD.
  S 3. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 36 of section 2  of  the  retirement
and  social security law, as amended by chapter 472 of the laws of 2014,
is amended to read as follows:
  (a) "Qualifying World Trade Center condition" shall mean a  qualifying
condition  or  impairment  of health resulting in disability to a member
who participated in World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup oper-
ations for a qualifying  period,  as  those  terms  are  defined  below,
provided  the  following  conditions  have been met: (i) such member, or
eligible beneficiary in the case of the member's death, must have  filed
a  written  and sworn statement with the member's retirement system on a
form provided  by  such  system  indicating  the  underlying  dates  and
locations  of employment not later than September eleventh, two thousand
[fifteen] EIGHTEEN, and (ii) such member has either successfully  passed
a  physical  examination  for  entry  into public service, or authorized
release of all relevant medical records, if the member did not undergo a
physical examination for entry into public service; and (iii)  there  is
no  evidence  of  the  qualifying condition or impairment of health that
formed the basis for the disability in  such  physical  examination  for
entry  into  public service or in the relevant medical records, prior to
September eleventh, two thousand one except for such member, or eligible
beneficiary in the case of the member's death,  of  a  local  retirement
system  of  a  city  with  a  population  of one million or more that is
covered by section 13-551 of the administrative code of the city of  New
York,  or  by  section twenty-five hundred seventy-five of the education
law and for such member who separated from service with  vested  rights,
or  eligible  beneficiary of such member who separated from service with
vested rights in the case of the member's death, of a  local  retirement
system  of  a  city  with  a  population  of one million or more who are
covered by sections 13-168, 13-252.1 or 13-353.1 of  the  administrative
code  of  the  city  of  New  York or sections five hundred seven-c, six
hundred five-b, six hundred five-c, or six hundred seven-b of this chap-
ter. The deadline for filing a written and sworn statement  required  by
subparagraph  (i)  of  this  paragraph  shall be September eleventh, two
thousand [fourteen] EIGHTEEN for such member, or eligible beneficiary in
the case of the member's death, of a local retirement system of  a  city
with  a  population  of  one  million or more that is covered by section
13-551 of the administrative code of the city of New York, or by section
twenty-five hundred seventy-five of  the  education  law  and  for  such
member  who separated from service with vested rights, or eligible bene-
ficiary of such member who separated from service with vested rights  in
the  case  of the member's death, of a local retirement system of a city
with a population of one million or more who  are  covered  by  sections
13-168,  13-252.1  or 13-353.1 of the administrative code of the city of
New York and sections five hundred  seven-c,  six  hundred  five-b,  six
hundred five-c, or six hundred seven-b of this chapter. Every retirement

A. 7958--B                          3

system  shall  keep  a copy of every written and sworn statement that is
presented for filing not later than  September  eleventh,  two  thousand
[fifteen]  EIGHTEEN,  including  those  that  are rejected for filing as
untimely.
  S  4. Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, none of the
provisions of this act shall be subject to section 25 of the  retirement
and social security law.
  S  5.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to
have been in full force and effect on  and  after  September  11,  2001;
provided,  however,  that  the amendments to sections 162 and 168 of the
workers' compensation law made by sections one  and  two  of  this  act,
respectively,  shall  apply  to all open and closed claims coming within
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 members of public retirement systems
who  contract  any  form of disease or disability related to exposure to
any elements in connection  with  the  World  Trade  Center  tragedy  of
September  11,  2001 to be presumptive evidence that such disability, or
death as a result of such disability was the result of an  accident  and
was  sustained  in  the performance of duty.  The provisions of this act
will not be subject to Section 25 of the Retirement and Social  Security
Law.
  Insofar as this bill would affect the New York State and Local Employ-
ees' Retirement and the New York State and Local Police and Fire Retire-
ment  System,  this  bill  would  extend  the deadline for filing notice
regarding the eligibility for benefits for certain members  who  partic-
ipated  in  the World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup operation
to September 11, 2018.
  If this bill is enacted, it would  lead  to  more  disabilities  being
classified as "in performance of duty" or "accidental". For the disabil-
ities  so classified due to this bill, the cost would depend on the age,
service, salary and plan of the affected member or retiree, as  well  as
whether  such person would have otherwise been eligible for, or has been
receiving an ordinary disability, a performance of duty disability or  a
service retirement. For those who contract such disease prior to retire-
ment,  it  is estimated that there could be per person one-time costs of
as much as 5 times salary. For those who contract  such  disease  subse-
quent  to  a  service retirement, it is estimated that there would be an
average per person cost of approximately 2 times final  average  salary.
For those who contract such disease subsequent to an ordinary disability
retirement,  it  is  estimated that there would be an average per person
cost of approximately 5 times final average 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 and plan of  the  affected
individual,  as  well as whether such person was an active member or has
been receiving an ordinary disability, a performance of duty disability,
an accidental disability or a service retirement. It is  estimated  that
the cost for each ERS and PFRS individual affected would average approx-
imately 3.5 times final average salary and 8 times final average salary,
respectively.
  These  costs  would be shared by the State of New York and the partic-
ipating employers in the ERS and PFRS.
  Summary of relevant resources:

A. 7958--B                          4

  The membership data used in  measuring  the  impact  of  the  proposed
change  was  the same as that used in the March 31, 2015 actuarial valu-
ation.  Distributions and other statistics can  be  found  in  the  2015
Report  of  the  Actuary  and  the  2015  Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
  The  actuarial  assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015
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, 2015
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  estimate,  dated  February  16,  2016, and intended for use only
during the  2016  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No.  2016-62,
prepared  by  the  Actuary  for  the New York State and Local Retirement
System.
  FISCAL NOTE.-- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
  PROVISIONS OF PROPOSED LEGISLATION: With respect to the New York  City
Retirement  System (NYCRS), the proposed legislation would amend Retire-
ment and Social Security Law (RSSL) Section 2, to  extend,  for  certain
members  who  participated in the Rescue, Recovery or Cleanup operations
related to the World Trade Center (WTC) attack on  September  11,  2001,
the deadline for filing a Notice of Participation under the WTC Disabil-
ity Law.
  The   NYCRS  include:  New  York  City  Employees'  Retirement  System
(NYCERS), New York City Teachers' Retirement System (NYCTRS),  New  York
City  Board  of Education Retirement System (BERS), New York City Police
Pension Fund (POLICE) and New York Fire Department Pension Fund (FIRE).
  The effective date of this proposed legislation would be the  date  of
enactment,  and  would, as it related to NYCRS, be deemed retroactive to
September 11, 2001.
  DEADLINES UNDER EXISTING PROVISIONS: Under current law, there are  two
different deadlines, depending on covered groupings, for timely filing a
Notice of Participation.
  Chapter 489 of the Laws of 2013 expanded coverage of the WTC Disabili-
ty  law to certain groups (Chapter 489/13 Covered Groups), and enacted a
September 11, 2014 deadline for eligible individuals within those Groups
to file  a  Notice  of  Participation.  Chapter  489/13  Covered  Groups
include:
  * Active, vested and retired Tier 1 and 2 NYCTRS members
  * Active, vested and retired Tier 1 and 2 BERS members
  * Vested Tier 1 and 2 NYCERS members
  * Vested Tier 1 and 2 POLICE members
  * Vested Tier 1 and 2 FIRE members
  * Vested Tier 3 NYCERS Uniformed Corrections members
  * Vested Tier 4 NYCERS Uniformed Sanitation members
  * Vested Tier 4 and 6 NYCERS Deputy Sheriff members
  * Vested Tier 4 and 6 NYCERS EMT members
  Chapter 472 of the Laws of 2014 extended the deadline to file a Notice
of  Participation  for  all  eligible groups not included in the Chapter
489/13 Covered Groups (the Original Covered  Groups)  to  September  11,
2015.
  DEADLINES  UNDER PROPOSED LEGISLATION: With respect to the NYCERS, the
proposed legislation would extend the deadline for filing  a  Notice  of
Participation  under  the  WTC  Disability  Law for the Original Covered

A. 7958--B                          5

Groups from September 11, 2015 to September 11,  2018,  and  extend  the
deadline  for  the Chapter 489/13 Covered Groups from September 11, 2014
to September 11, 2018.
  ADDITIONAL  EMPLOYER  CONTRIBUTIONS: The increase in employer contrib-
utions as a result of the  proposed  legislation  would  depend  on  the
number  of  additional  members  who  file  the  required form, meet the
requirements of the WTC Disability Laws and then ultimately benefit from
one of the Laws.
  As the Actuary believes that most members who would  be  eligible  for
the  benefits  provided  under the WTC Disability Law have already filed
the required form to register for  participation,  only  a  few  members
likely  would  benefit form the proposed legislation and, therefore, the
increase in employer contributions would likely be de minimis.
  ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The additional employer  costs  and
contributions  have  been  determined based on the actuarial assumptions
and methods used in June 30, 2015 (Lag) actuarial valuations of NYCRS.
  STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Sherry S. Chan, am the Chief  Actu-
ary  for  the New York City Retirement Systems. I am an Associate of the
Society of Actuaries, a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries
and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. I meet the Qualifica-
tion Standards of the American Academy of Actuaries to render the  actu-
arial opinion contained herein.
  FISCAL  NOTE  IDENTIFICATION: This Fiscal Note 2016-17 dated April 11,
2016, was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Employees'
Retirement System, the New York City Teachers'  Retirement  System,  the
New  York  City  Board of Education Retirement System, the New York City
Police Pension Fund and the New York Fire Department Pension Fund.  This
estimate is intended for use only during the 2016 Legislative Session.

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

                                 7958--C

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              June 2, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  ABBATE,  GOLDFEDER, SALADINO, COLTON, AUBRY,
  MALLIOTAKIS, ORTIZ, CERETTO, SKOUFIS -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
  GALEF, MARKEY, THIELE -- read once and referred to  the  Committee  on
  Governmental Employees -- recommitted to the Committee on Governmental
  Employees  in  accordance  with  Assembly  Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee
  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
  to said committee -- reported and referred to the  Committee  on  Ways
  and  Means -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
  amended and recommitted to said committee -- again reported from  said
  committee  with amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommit-
  ted to said committee

AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law  and  the  retirement  and
  social  security  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:

  Section 1. Section 162 of the workers' compensation law, as amended by
section 489 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
  S  162.  Registration  of  participation in World Trade Center rescue,
recovery and clean-up operations. In order for the claim  of  a  partic-
ipant  in World Trade Center rescue, recovery and clean-up operations to
come within the application of this article, such participant must  file
a  written  and  sworn statement with the board on a form promulgated by
the chair indicating the dates and locations of such  participation  and
the  name  of  such  participant's employer during the period of partic-
ipation. Such statement must be filed not later than September eleventh,
two thousand [fourteen] EIGHTEEN.  The board shall transmit  a  copy  of
such  statement  to the employer or carrier named therein. The filing of
such a statement shall not be considered the filing of a claim for bene-
fits under this chapter.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD11342-08-6

              

A. 7958--C                          2

  S 2. Section 168 of the workers' compensation law is amended by adding
a new subdivision 3 to read as follows:
  3. A CLAIM BY A PARTICIPANT IN THE WORLD TRADE CENTER RESCUE, RECOVERY
OR CLEANUP OPERATIONS WHOSE DISABLEMENT OCCURRED BETWEEN SEPTEMBER ELEV-
ENTH, TWO THOUSAND TWELVE, AND SEPTEMBER ELEVENTH, TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN,
SHALL  NOT  BE DISALLOWED AS BARRED BY SECTION EIGHTEEN OR SECTION TWEN-
TY-EIGHT OF THIS CHAPTER IF SUCH CLAIM IS FILED ON OR  BEFORE  SEPTEMBER
ELEVENTH,  TWO THOUSAND EIGHTEEN. ANY SUCH CLAIM BY A PARTICIPANT IN THE
WORLD TRADE CENTER RESCUE, RECOVERY OR CLEANUP OPERATIONS WHOSE DISABLE-
MENT OCCURRED BETWEEN  SEPTEMBER  ELEVENTH,  TWO  THOUSAND  TWELVE,  AND
SEPTEMBER  ELEVENTH, TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN, AND WAS DISALLOWED BY SECTION
EIGHTEEN OR TWENTY-EIGHT OF THIS CHAPTER SHALL BE  RECONSIDERED  BY  THE
BOARD.
  S  3.  Paragraph  (a) of subdivision 36 of section 2 of the retirement
and social security law, as amended by chapter 472 of the laws of  2014,
is amended to read as follows:
  (a)  "Qualifying World Trade Center condition" shall mean a qualifying
condition or impairment of health resulting in disability  to  a  member
who participated in World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup oper-
ations  for  a  qualifying  period,  as  those  terms are defined below,
provided the following conditions have been met:  (i)  such  member,  or
eligible  beneficiary in the case of the member's death, must have filed
a written and sworn statement with the member's retirement system  on  a
form  provided  by  such  system  indicating  the  underlying  dates and
locations of employment not later than September eleventh, two  thousand
[fifteen]  EIGHTEEN, and (ii) such member has either successfully passed
a physical examination for entry  into  public  service,  or  authorized
release of all relevant medical records, if the member did not undergo a
physical  examination  for entry into public service; and (iii) there is
no evidence of the qualifying condition or  impairment  of  health  that
formed  the  basis  for  the disability in such physical examination for
entry into public service or in the relevant medical records,  prior  to
September eleventh, two thousand one except for such member, or eligible
beneficiary  in  the  case  of the member's death, of a local retirement
system of a city with a population  of  one  million  or  more  that  is
covered  by section 13-551 of the administrative code of the city of New
York, or by section twenty-five hundred seventy-five  of  the  education
law  and  for such member who separated from service with vested rights,
or eligible beneficiary of such member who separated from  service  with
vested  rights  in the case of the member's death, of a local retirement
system of a city with a population  of  one  million  or  more  who  are
covered  by  sections 13-168, 13-252.1 or 13-353.1 of the administrative
code of the city of New York  or  sections  five  hundred  seven-c,  six
hundred five-b, six hundred five-c, or six hundred seven-b of this chap-
ter.  The  deadline for filing a written and sworn statement required by
subparagraph (i) of this paragraph  shall  be  September  eleventh,  two
thousand [fourteen] EIGHTEEN for such member, or eligible beneficiary in
the  case  of the member's death, of a local retirement system of a city
with a population of one million or more  that  is  covered  by  section
13-551 of the administrative code of the city of New York, or by section
twenty-five  hundred  seventy-five  of  the  education  law and for such
member who separated from service with vested rights, or eligible  bene-
ficiary  of such member who separated from service with vested rights in
the case of the member's death, of a local retirement system of  a  city
with  a  population  of  one million or more who are covered by sections
13-168, 13-252.1 or 13-353.1 of the administrative code of the  city  of

A. 7958--C                          3

New  York  and  sections  five  hundred seven-c, six hundred five-b, six
hundred five-c, or six hundred seven-b of this chapter. Every retirement
system shall keep a copy of every written and sworn  statement  that  is
presented  for  filing  not  later than September eleventh, two thousand
[fifteen] EIGHTEEN, including those that  are  rejected  for  filing  as
untimely.
  S  4. Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, none of the
provisions of this act shall be subject to section 25 of the  retirement
and social security law.
  S  5.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to
have been in full force and effect on  and  after  September  11,  2001;
provided,  however,  that  the amendments to sections 162 and 168 of the
workers' compensation law made by sections one  and  two  of  this  act,
respectively,  shall  apply  to all open and closed claims coming within
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 members of public retirement systems
who  contract  any  form of disease or disability related to exposure to
any elements in connection  with  the  World  Trade  Center  tragedy  of
September  11,  2001 to be presumptive evidence that such disability, or
death as a result of such disability was the result of an  accident  and
was  sustained  in  the performance of duty.  The provisions of this act
will not be subject to Section 25 of the Retirement and Social  Security
Law.
  Insofar as this bill would affect the New York State and Local Employ-
ees' Retirement and the New York State and Local Police and Fire Retire-
ment  System,  this  bill  would  extend  the deadline for filing notice
regarding the eligibility for benefits for certain members  who  partic-
ipated  in  the World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup operation
to September 11, 2018.
  If this bill is enacted, it would  lead  to  more  disabilities  being
classified as "in performance of duty" or "accidental". For the disabil-
ities  so classified due to this bill, the cost would depend on the age,
service, salary and plan of the affected member or retiree, as  well  as
whether  such person would have otherwise been eligible for, or has been
receiving an ordinary disability, a performance of duty disability or  a
service retirement. For those who contract such disease prior to retire-
ment,  it  is estimated that there could be per person one-time costs of
as much as 5 times salary. For those who contract  such  disease  subse-
quent  to  a  service retirement, it is estimated that there would be an
average per person cost of approximately 2 times final  average  salary.
For those who contract such disease subsequent to an ordinary disability
retirement,  it  is  estimated that there would be an average per person
cost of approximately 5 times final average 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 and plan of  the  affected
individual,  as  well as whether such person was an active member or has
been receiving an ordinary disability, a performance of duty disability,
an accidental disability or a service retirement. It is  estimated  that
the cost for each ERS and PFRS individual affected would average approx-
imately 3.5 times final average salary and 8 times final average salary,
respectively.
  These  costs  would be shared by the State of New York and the partic-
ipating employers in the ERS and PFRS.

A. 7958--C                          4

  Summary of relevant resources:
  The  membership  data  used  in  measuring  the impact of the proposed
change was the same as that used in the March 31, 2015  actuarial  valu-
ation.    Distributions  and  other  statistics can be found in the 2015
Report of the  Actuary  and  the  2015  Comprehensive  Annual  Financial
Report.
  The  actuarial  assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015
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, 2015
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  estimate,  dated  February  16,  2016, and intended for use only
during the  2016  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No.  2016-62,
prepared  by  the  Actuary  for  the New York State and Local Retirement
System.
  FISCAL NOTE.-- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
  PROVISIONS OF PROPOSED LEGISLATION: With respect to the New York  City
Retirement  System (NYCRS), the proposed legislation would amend Retire-
ment and Social Security Law (RSSL) Section 2, to  extend,  for  certain
members  who  participated in the Rescue, Recovery or Cleanup operations
related to the World Trade Center (WTC) attack on  September  11,  2001,
the deadline for filing a Notice of Participation under the WTC Disabil-
ity Law.
  The   NYCRS  include:  New  York  City  Employees'  Retirement  System
(NYCERS), New York City Teachers' Retirement System (NYCTRS),  New  York
City  Board  of Education Retirement System (BERS), New York City Police
Pension Fund (POLICE) and New York Fire Department Pension Fund (FIRE).
  The effective date of this proposed legislation would be the  date  of
enactment,  and  would, as it related to NYCRS, be deemed retroactive to
September 11, 2001.
  DEADLINES UNDER EXISTING PROVISIONS: Under current law, there are  two
different deadlines, depending on covered groupings, for timely filing a
Notice of Participation.
  Chapter 489 of the Laws of 2013 expanded coverage of the WTC Disabili-
ty  law to certain groups (Chapter 489/13 Covered Groups), and enacted a
September 11, 2014 deadline for eligible individuals within those Groups
to file  a  Notice  of  Participation.  Chapter  489/13  Covered  Groups
include:
  * Active, vested and retired Tier 1 and 2 NYCTRS members
  * Active, vested and retired Tier 1 and 2 BERS members
  * Vested Tier 1 and 2 NYCERS members
  * Vested Tier 1 and 2 POLICE members
  * Vested Tier 1 and 2 FIRE members
  * Vested Tier 3 NYCERS Uniformed Corrections members
  * Vested Tier 4 NYCERS Uniformed Sanitation members
  * Vested Tier 4 and 6 NYCERS Deputy Sheriff members
  * Vested Tier 4 and 6 NYCERS EMT members
  Chapter 472 of the Laws of 2014 extended the deadline to file a Notice
of  Participation  for  all  eligible groups not included in the Chapter
489/13 Covered Groups (the Original Covered  Groups)  to  September  11,
2015.
  DEADLINES  UNDER PROPOSED LEGISLATION: With respect to the NYCERS, the
proposed legislation would extend the deadline for filing  a  Notice  of

A. 7958--C                          5

Participation  under  the  WTC  Disability  Law for the Original Covered
Groups from September 11, 2015 to September 11,  2018,  and  extend  the
deadline  for  the Chapter 489/13 Covered Groups from September 11, 2014
to September 11, 2018.
  ADDITIONAL  EMPLOYER  CONTRIBUTIONS: The increase in employer contrib-
utions as a result of the  proposed  legislation  would  depend  on  the
number  of  additional  members  who  file  the  required form, meet the
requirements of the WTC Disability Laws and then ultimately benefit from
one of the Laws.
  As the Actuary believes that most members who would  be  eligible  for
the  benefits  provided  under the WTC Disability Law have already filed
the required form to register for  participation,  only  a  few  members
likely  would  benefit form the proposed legislation and, therefore, the
increase in employer contributions would likely be de minimis.
  ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The additional employer  costs  and
contributions  have  been  determined based on the actuarial assumptions
and methods used in June 30, 2015 (Lag) actuarial valuations of NYCRS.
  STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Sherry S. Chan, am the Chief  Actu-
ary  for  the New York City Retirement Systems. I am an Associate of the
Society of Actuaries, a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries
and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. I meet the Qualifica-
tion Standards of the American Academy of Actuaries to render the  actu-
arial opinion contained herein.
  FISCAL  NOTE  IDENTIFICATION: This Fiscal Note 2016-17 dated April 11,
2016, was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Employees'
Retirement System, the New York City Teachers'  Retirement  System,  the
New  York  City  Board of Education Retirement System, the New York City
Police Pension Fund and the New York Fire Department Pension Fund.  This
estimate is intended for use only during the 2016 Legislative Session.
  FISCAL NOTE.-- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
  This  bill  would  amend Subdivision 36 of Section 2 of the Retirement
and Social Security Law to extend the deadline to September 11, 2018 for
filing notice of having participated in the World Trade  Center  rescue,
recover  or cleanup operations during the qualifying period. Members who
become disabled or die as a result of a "qualifying World  Trade  Center
condition" are assumed to have become disabled or died as a result of an
accidental or on-the-job disability or death. This act shall take effect
immediately and shall be deemed to have been in full force and effect on
and after September 11, 2001.
  The  annual  cost  to  the  employers of members of the New York State
Teachers' Retirement System is estimated to be negligible if  this  bill
is enacted.
  Employee  data  is  from  the System's most recent actuarial valuation
files, consisting of data provided by the employers  to  the  Retirement
System.  Data  distributions and statistics can be found in the System's
Comprehensive Annual Financial  Report  (CAFR).  System  assets  are  as
reported  in the System's financial statements, and can also be found in
the CAFR. Actuarial assumptions and methods are provided in the System's
Actuarial Valuation Report.
  The source of this estimate is Fiscal Note 2016-28 dated June 9,  2016
prepared  by  the  Actuary  of  the  New York State Teacher's Retirement
System and is intended for use only during the 2016 Legislative Session.
I, Richard A. Young, am the Actuary for the  New  York  State  Teacher's
Retirement  System.  I  am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries
and I meet the Qualification Standards of the American Academy of  Actu-
aries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.