Assembly Bill A9973

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9973
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               March 4, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. NORRIS -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Governmental Employees
 
 AN  ACT deeming Lawrence Lakeman to have died as a natural and proximate
   result of his participation in the World Trade Center rescue, recovery
   or cleanup operations
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section  1. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, rule or regu-
 lation to the contrary, Lawrence Lakeman, who was previously employed by
 the New York state police as a trooper and was a member of the New  York
 state  and  local  police  and fire retirement system, who was granted a
 state police disability retirement benefit on April 24, 2007 due to  the
 incapacitation  he  sustained  as  a  result of his participation in the
 World Trade Center rescue, recovery  or  cleanup  operations,  shall  be
 deemed  to have died as a natural and proximate result of such incapaci-
 tation, and as such, his beneficiary, Audra Lakeman, shall  be  eligible
 to  request and such request shall not be time barred, the conversion of
 such retiree's state police disability retirement benefit  to  an  acci-
 dental  death  benefit, if such request to that effect is filed with the
 state comptroller within one year from the effective date of this act.
   § 2. All costs of implementing the provisions of  this  act  shall  be
 borne  by  the  state of New York and all participating employers in the
 New York state and local police and fire retirement system.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill will provide Audra  Lakeman,  the  beneficiary  of  deceased
 police  officer  Lawrence Lakeman's performance of duty disability bene-
 fit, the option to resubmit the Application for Conversion of Service or
 Disability Retirement to Accidental Death Benefit  for  Victims  of  the
 2001  World  Trade Center Disaster, and that such application be consid-
 ered by the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS)  without
 regard  to  the  requirement  that  such application be filed within two
 years of the retiree's date of death as provided in Section 361  of  the
 Retirement  and Social Security Law.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD13478-02-0

 A. 9973                             2
 
   If  this  bill  is  enacted during the 2020 legislative session, there
 will be an immediate past service cost of  approximately  $3.60  million
 which  will  be  shared  by  the State of New York and the participating
 employers of the New York State and Local  Police  and  Fire  Retirement
 System.  This  estimate  is based on the assumption that payment will be
 made on March 1, 2021.
   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, 2019 actuarial valu-
 ation.  Distributions and other statistics can  be  found  in  the  2019
 Report  of  the  Actuary  and  the  2019  Comprehensive Annual Financial
 Report.
   The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the  2015,
 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 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, 2019
 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  February  6,  2020,  and intended for use only
 during the  2020  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No.  2020-10,
 prepared  by  the  Actuary  for  the New York State and Local Retirement
 System.