NY State Senate Bill 2023-S8667

Senate Bill S8667

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Grants Michael Quatrocci a presumption of disability regarding accidental disability retirement

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Civil Service And Pensions 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
Feb 28, 2024	referred to civil service and pensions

2023-S8667 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A9843
Current Committee:: Senate Civil Service And Pensions
Law Section:: Retirement

2023-S8667 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Grants Michael Quatrocci a presumption of disability regarding accidental disability retirement.

2023-S8667 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8667

SPONSOR: HARCKHAM
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act granting Michael Quatrocci a presumption of disability regarding
accidental disability retirement

 
PURPOSE:

Grants Michael Quatrocci a presumption of disability regarding acci-
dental disability retirement.   
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 declares Michael Quatrocci shall have presumptive evidence
that his Long-Covid disability was incurred during performance of his
service and that accidental disability retirement shall be extended to
him, unless the contrary is proved by competent evidence.

Section 2 states the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Officer Michael Quatrocci was a highly active member of the Yonkers
police force, boasting an impressive arrest record and reportedly only
calling in sick twice during his thirteen years of public service. In
addition to his career in public safety, Officer Quatrocci stood as a
pillar of the Yonkers community by coaching softball and hockey. He was
no mere spectator, the Officer himself was a voracious hockey player and
a consistent runner. All of that changed in a matter of weeks, trag-
ically, when Officer Quatrocci was told by four different doctors that
he could no longer fulfill his duties as a police officer after
contracting Covid-19 in the line of duty.

Officer Quatrocci was forced to retire from service at the start of his
battle with Long-Covid and Covid Pneumonia in March of 2020. He spent
five weeks in quarantine, sought the assistance of sleep doctors,
neurologists, and even the world's  2 cough specialist. The extensive
treatments and medication failed to fully restore the Officer, and he
reports that he is still struggling with breathing and memory. At the
time, the City of Yonkers gave the presumption that disability retire-
ment would not be denied to public servants suffering from Covid. Unfor-
tunately, there is no state legislation to include Covid related disa-
bilities on the enumerated list of acceptable conditions for disability
retirement.

This legislation retroactively includes Long-Covid and Covid related
disabilities as acceptable conditions for disability retirement for
Officer Michael Quatrocci, specifically and exclusively.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

There will be an immediate past service cost of $832,000 if enacted.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2023-S8667 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8667
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 28, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. HARCKHAM -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
 
 AN ACT granting Michael Quatrocci a presumption of disability  regarding
   accidental disability retirement
 
   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 the  retirement  and
 social  security  law  or  of  any  general, special or local law to the
 contrary, Michael Quatrocci, a police officer for the  city  of  Yonkers
 who  contracted  COVID-19  in March 2020 while so employed and has since
 had impaired health due to contracting  COVID-19  which  resulted  in  a
 disability, shall have such impaired health be presumptive evidence that
 such  disability  was  incurred in the performance and discharge of duty
 and the natural and proximate result of such discharge of  duty,  unless
 the contrary be proved by competent evidence, for the purposes of apply-
 ing  for  accidental  disability  retirement  under  section  363 of the
 retirement and social security law.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would grant Michael Quatrocci, a  member  of  the  New  York
 State and Local Police and Fire Retirement System (NYSLPFRS), a COVID-19
 related  presumption  which is expected to result in an accidental disa-
 bility benefit under section 363 of the Retirement and  Social  Security
 Law  (RSSL).  The disability benefit will be 75 percent of final average
 salary, less workers' compensation. Michael Quatrocci  is  currently  an
 active  member  employed  full-time with the City of Yonkers as a police
 officer. They will be required to complete and submit an application for
 accidental disability retirement prior to receiving any disability bene-
 fit.
   If this bill is enacted  during  the  2024  Legislative  Session,  and
 Michael  Quatrocci  is  subsequently  approved  for  disability benefits
 pursuant to section 363 of the RSSL, there will  be  an  immediate  past
 service  cost of approximately $832,000 which will be borne by the State
 of New York and all local participating employers in the NYSLPFRS.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD13687-02-4
 S. 8667                             2
 
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership  data as of March 31, 2023 was used in measuring the impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2023 actuari-
 al valuation.  Distributions and other statistics can be  found  in  the
 2023  Report  of the Actuary and the 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial
 Report.
   The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in  the  2023
 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, 2023
 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, 2024,  and  intended  for  use  only
 during  the  2024  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No. 2024-80,
 prepared by the Actuary for the New  York  State  and  Local  Retirement
 System.

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