S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                   5956
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 16, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MAY  --  read  twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
 
 AN ACT to authorize Morgan McDole, Baraaka J. Titus and David Dunlap, to
   elect to participate in the optional twenty year retirement  plan  for
   firefighters  employed  by the City of Syracuse Fire Department in the
   county of Onondaga
 
   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 to the contrary,
 the  City  of  Syracuse  Fire  Department,  in the county of Onondaga, 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,  established  pursuant  to  section 384-d of the
 retirement and social security law, to  firefighters  employed  by  such
 fire  district,  is hereby authorized to make participation in such plan
 available to Morgan McDole, Baraaka J. Titus  and  David  Dunlap;  fire-
 fighters employed by such fire department, who, for reasons not ascriba-
 ble  to  their  own  negligence,  failed to make a timely application to
 participate in such optional twenty year  retirement  plan.  Thereafter,
 Morgan McDole, Baraaka J. Titus and David Dunlap may elect to be covered
 by the provisions of section 384-d of the retirement and social security
 law,  and  shall  be entitled to the full rights and benefits associated
 with coverage under such section, by filing a  request  to  that  effect
 with  the state comptroller within six months from the effective date of
 this act.
   §  2.  All  past  service  costs  associated  with  implementing   the
 provisions  of  this  act  shall  be  borne by the City of Syracuse Fire
 Department and may be amortized over a period of ten years.
   § 3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,  this
 act  shall be contingent upon the City of Syracuse Fire Department Board
 of Fire Commissioners passing a resolution requesting the  enactment  of

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

                                                            LBD07045-04-9

 S. 5956                             2
 
 this  legislation  and providing copies of such resolution to each house
 of the legislature.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would allow the City of Syracuse to reopen the provisions of
 Section 384-d of the Retirement and Social Security Law for firefighters
 Morgan McDole, Baraaka J. Titus and David Dunlap.
   If  this bill is enacted during the 2019 legislative session and these
 members become covered under the provisions of Section 384-d, we  antic-
 ipate  that  there  will  be an increase of approximately $21,000 in the
 annual contributions of the City of Syracuse for the fiscal year  ending
 March  31,  2020.  In  future  years, this cost will vary as the billing
 rates and salary of these members change.
   In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
 an immediate past service cost of $339,000 which will be  borne  by  the
 City  of  Syracuse  as a one-time payment. This estimate is based on the
 assumption that payment will be made on February 1, 2020. If the City of
 Syracuse elects to amortize this cost over a 10 year  period,  the  cost
 for the first year would be $45,100.
   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, 2018  actuarial  valu-
 ation.    Distributions  and  other  statistics can be found in the 2018
 Report of the  Actuary  and  the  2018  Comprehensive  Annual  Financial
 Report.
   The  actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015,
 2016, 2017 and 2018  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, 2018
 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  26,  2019, and intended for use only
 during the  2019  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No.  2019-84,
 prepared  by  the  Actuary  for  the New York State and Local Retirement
 System.