S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
4295--B
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
January 30, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. MONTESANO, LAWRENCE -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Governmental Employees -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee -- again reported from said committee with amendments, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
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 APPLIED TO RECEIVE A
PENSION.
S 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
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07949-03-5
A. 4295--B 2
THE COMMISSION ON JUDICIAL COMPENSATION FOR THE YEAR IN WHICH SAID
MEMBER APPLIED TO RECEIVE A PENSION.
S 3. Section 512 of the retirement and social security law is amended
by adding a new subdivision e to read as follows:
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 APPLIED TO RECEIVE A PENSION.
S 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 APPLIED TO RECEIVE A PENSION.
S 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--
This bill will allow any member who served as an elected or appointed
judge or justice of the unified court system to have their final average
salary determined using the rate of salary set by the commission of
judicial compensation for the year in which the member last served.
If this legislation is enacted during the 2015 legislative session, it
is estimated that there will be an increase of approximately $2.2
million in the annual contributions of the state of New York for the
fiscal year ending March 31, 2016. In future years, this cost will vary
as the billing rates and salaries of the affected members change.
In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, it is esti-
mated that there will be a past service cost of $44.1 million which will
be borne by the state of New York as a one-time payment, assuming that
such payment will be made on March 1, 2016.
This estimate is based on a group of 1,198 affected members with a
salary for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014 of approximately $177
million. A list of eligible members was provided by the Office of Court
Administration.
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, 2014 actuarial valu-
ation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2014
Report of the Actuary and the 2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2010,
2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 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, 2014
New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements and
Supplementary Information.
A. 4295--B 3
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 March 30, 2015, and intended for use only during
the 2015 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2015-83, prepared by
the Actuary for the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement
System.