The New York State Senate

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9375
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 23, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. HAWLEY -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Governmental Employees
 
 AN  ACT  to authorize the county of  Orleans to offer an optional twenty
   year retirement plan to Ryan Flaherty, a deputy  sheriff  employed  by
   such county
 
   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,
 Ryan Flaherty, a member of the optional twenty-five year retirement plan
 for certain sheriffs,  undersheriffs,  deputy  sheriffs  and  correction
 officers  pursuant to section 89-l of the retirement and social security
 law, who was employed by the Orleans county sheriff's office as of Janu-
 ary 23, 2005, and who through no fault of his  own,  failed  to  file  a
 timely  application to participate in the special twenty year retirement
 plan contained in section 553 of the retirement and social security  law
 resulting  in the crediting of his service with the county of Orleans in
 the retirement plan contained in section 89-l  of  such  law,  shall  be
 given  full  credit  in  the section 553 twenty year retirement plan for
 such service upon the election of the county of Orleans  to  assume  the
 additional  cost of such service and his election to participate in such
 plan. The county of Orleans may so elect within one year of  the  effec-
 tive date of this act, by filing with the state comptroller a resolution
 of  its  local  legislative  body  together with certification that such
 member did not bar himself from participation in such retirement plan as
 a result of his own negligence.
   § 2. Such deputy sheriff may elect to be covered by the provisions  of
 section 553 of the retirement and social security law and shall be enti-
 tled to the full rights and benefits associated with coverage under such
 section  by  filing  a request to that effect with the state comptroller
 within eighteen months of the effective date of this act.
   § 3. All employer past service costs associated with  the  implementa-
 tion  of this act shall be borne by Orleans county, and may be amortized
 over a period of five years.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD08021-02-2
 A. 9375                             2
 
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill would allow Ryan Flaherty, a current member of the New York
 State and Local Employees' Retirement System employed as a deputy  sher-
 iff  by  Orleans County and covered under the 25-year retirement plan of
 section 89-I of the Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL), to  elect
 to be covered under the 20-year plan of section 553 of the RSSL.
   If this bill is enacted during the 2022 legislative session, we antic-
 ipate  that  there  will  be  an increase of approximately $3,500 in the
 annual contributions of Orleans County for the fiscal year ending  March
 31,  2023. In future years, this cost will vary as the billing rates and
 salary of Ryan Flaherty change.
   In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
 an immediate past service cost of approximately $143,000 which  will  be
 borne by Orleans County as a one-time payment. This estimate is based on
 the assumption that payment will be made on February 1, 2023. If Orleans
 County  elects  to amortize this cost over a 5-year period, the cost for
 the first year including interest would be $32,000.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership data as of March 31, 2021 was used in measuring the  impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2021 actuari-
 al  valuation.  Distributions  and  other statistics can be found in the
 2021 Report of the Actuary and the 2021 Comprehensive  Annual  Financial
 Report.
   The  actuarial  assumptions and methods used are described in the 2020
 and 2021 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, 2021
 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  14,  2022, and intended for use only
 during the  2022  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No.  2022-69,
 prepared  by  the  Actuary  for  the New York State and Local Retirement
 System.