NY State Senate Bill 2023-S7586

Senate Bill S7586

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Relates to permitting accidental death benefits to be awarded to the beneficiary of Anthony Varvaro

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jun 28, 2023	referred to rules

2023-S7586 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A8131
Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: Retirement

2023-S7586 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Deems Anthony Varvaro to have died as the natural and proximate result of an accident sustained in the performance of duty so as to permit accidental death benefits to be awarded to his beneficiaries.

2023-S7586 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S7586

SPONSOR: SCARCELLA-SPANTON
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to permit accidental death benefits to be awarded to the benefi-
ciary of Anthony Varvaro


 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Notwithstanding the provisions of any law, rule or regulation
to the contrary, Anthony Varvaro, who was a member of the New York State
and Local Police and Fire Retirement System employed as a police officer
by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and who died on
September 111, 2022 as the result of an accident which occurred while he
was traveling to work, shall be deemed to have died as the natural and
proximate result of an accident sustained in the performance of duty.
The beneficiary or beneficiaries of Anthony Varvaro shall be eligible to
receive the accidental death benefit if an application therefore is
filed within one year of the effective date of this act.

Any amounts paid by the New York State and Local Police and Fire Retire-

ment system as the result of the death of Anthony Varvaro prior to the
receipt of the accidental death benefit pursuant to this section shall
be deducted from the benefit payable on an actuarially equivalent basis
over the expected future lifetime of the beneficiary or beneficiaries.

Section 2: All costs associated with this act shall be borne by the
state of New York.

Section 3: Fiscal note/impact. This act shall take effect immediately.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Anthony Varvaro, a former Major League Baseball pitcher who retired in
2016 to become a police officer in New York City, was killed in a car
crash on his way to work at the Sept. 11 memorial ceremony in Manhattan.
Anthony was 37 and an officer for the Port Authority of New York and New
jersey.

It is often common policy that most state and local employees are typi-
cally compensated for travel expenses during travel for work.  They and
their families should be compensated, especially in tragic cases where
the employee is injured or killed with traveling to and from work or to
an assigned designation. This legislation is seeking to rectify this
issue by placing in current statue that the employee died as the natural
and proximate result of an accident sustained in the performance of duty
if such member was traveling from their primary residence directly to
their place of business, or to a different location where such member
was assigned to perform his or her duties.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

See fiscal note attached in legislative text.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2023-S7586 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7586
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               June 28, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. SCARCELLA-SPANTON -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to permit accidental death benefits to be awarded to the  benefi-
   ciary of Anthony Varvaro
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law,  rule  or  regu-
 lation  to  the  contrary,  Anthony Varvaro, who was a member of the New
 York state and local police and fire retirement  system  employed  as  a
 police officer by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and who
 died  on  September 11, 2022 as the result of an accident which occurred
 while he was travelling to work, shall be deemed to  have  died  as  the
 natural and proximate result of an accident sustained in the performance
 of  duty.  The  beneficiary or beneficiaries of Anthony Varvaro shall be
 eligible to receive the  accidental  death  benefit  if  an  application
 therefor  is  filed  within  one year of the effective date of this act.
 Any amounts paid by the New  York  state  and   local   police and  fire
 retirement    system as the result of the death of Anthony Varvaro prior
 to the receipt of the accidental death benefit pursuant to  this section
 shall be deducted from the benefit payable on an   actuarially    equiv-
 alent  basis    over  the expected future lifetime of the beneficiary or
 beneficiaries.
   § 2. All costs associated with this act shall be borne by the state of
 New York.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would make the statutory beneficiaries  of  Anthony  Varvaro
 eligible to collect an accidental death benefit pursuant to Sections 361
 and 361-a of the Retirement and Social Security Law. Anthony Varvaro was
 a  police  officer  employed  by  the Port Authority of New York and New
 Jersey and a member of the New York State  and  Local  Police  and  Fire
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11782-04-3

 S. 7586                             2
 
 Retirement System until their death on September 11, 2022. Currently, an
 ordinary  death benefit equal to three times the member's prior 12-month
 salary is payable to the beneficiary selected by the member.
   If  this  bill  is  enacted during the 2023 legislative session, there
 will be an immediate past service cost of  approximately  $6.67  million
 which will be borne by the State of New York as a one-time payment. This
 estimate assumes that payment will be made on March 1, 2024.
   The  statutory beneficiary must file an application for the accidental
 death benefits, in lieu of the ordinary death benefits, within one  year
 of the bill's effective date.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership  data as of March 31, 2022 was used in measuring the impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2022 actuari-
 al valuation.  Distributions and other statistics can be  found  in  the
 2022  Report  of the Actuary and the 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial
 Report.
   The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the  2020,
 2021,  and  2022  Annual  Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assump-
 tions, 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, 2022
 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 15, 2023, and intended for use  only  during
 the  2023  Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2023-180, prepared by
 the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.

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