Assembly Bill A6979A

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  6979--A
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              March 29, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M. of A. STEC -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Governmental Employees -- recommitted to the Committee  on  Govern-
   mental Employees in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- commit-
   tee  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recom-
   mitted to said committee

 AN ACT to authorize Jaime Laczko to elect to participate in the optional
   twenty-five year retirement plan for forest rangers in the service  of
   the department of environmental conservation
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Jaime Laczko, a
 member of the New York  state  and  local  police  and  fire  retirement
 system,  who is employed by the department of environmental conservation
 as a full-time forest ranger I,  who  upon  commencing  such  employment
 became  a  member of such retirement system subject to the provisions of
 section 375-h of the retirement and social security law, who was  eligi-
 ble,  at such time, to elect to join the New York state and local police
 and fire retirement system subject  to  the  optional  twenty-five  year
 retirement  plan  for forest rangers in the service of the department of
 environmental conservation pursuant to section 383-c of  the  retirement
 and  social security law, and who, for reasons not ascribable to his own
 negligence, failed to elect to  participate  in  such  twenty-five  year
 retirement  plan,  shall be deemed to have elected to participate in the
 retirement plan, established by section  383-c  of  the  retirement  and
 social  security  law,  upon  commencement of his employment as a forest
 ranger I, if, within 1 year of the effective date of this act, he  shall
 file an application therefor with the state comptroller.
   §  2.  All  past  costs associated with implementing the provisions of
 this act shall be borne by the state of New  York.  Jaime  Laczko  shall
 bear  no  costs  associated with the implementation of the provisions of
 this act.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD08760-03-0

 A. 6979--A                          2
 
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill  will  deem Jaime Laczko, a forest ranger currently covered
 under an age 55 retirement plan, to have elected to participate  in  the
 25  year  retirement plan established by Section 383-c of the Retirement
 and Social Security Law.
   If this bill is enacted during the 2020 legislative session and  Jaime
 Laczko  becomes covered under the provisions of Section 383-c, we antic-
 ipate that there will be an increase  of  approximately  $5,000  in  the
 annual contributions of the State of New York for the fiscal year ending
 March  31,  2021.  In  future  years, this cost will vary as the billing
 rates and salary of Jaime Laczko change.
   In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
 an immediate past service cost of approximately $60,000  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, 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  June 4, 2020, and intended for use only during
 the 2020 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2020-120,  prepared  by
 the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.