S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9295
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 10, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. SCARCELLA-SPANTON -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and
   Pensions
 
 AN ACT to authorize the Honorable Joseph J. Maltese to  receive  compen-
   sation and service credit
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Under New York state law, justices over the age of 70  must
 request  certification  to continue to serve. In September 2020, Justice
 Joseph J. Maltese, who was assigned to the  Appellate  Division,  Second
 Department  of  the Supreme Court and other justices were denied certif-
 ication by the office of court administration based on potential  future
 budget  cuts  that  never materialized. As a result, Justice Maltese and
 other similarly situated justices were terminated effective  January  1,
 2021.    Pursuant  to  chapter 185 of the laws of 2023, judicial compen-
 sation was awarded to 15 justices for the period from January  1,  2021,
 to  June  14,  2021.  The  legislature allocated monies to the office of
 court administration to make those justices whole. Justice Maltese,  who
 believed  he  was  included  in that legislation was not compensated for
 that period of time as he did not resume service at the Appellate  Divi-
 sion,  Second  Department  until November 8, 2021, because he needed the
 Governor's redesignation, to return to the Appellate Division, which did
 not take effect until November 8, 2021.  Justice  Maltese  rejoined  the
 court  with  the  approval  of  the  office  of court administration and
 suspended his pension benefits effective on November 8, 2021.
   This body is in agreement with the  office  of  court  administration,
 that  in  the interest of fairness, and for the purpose of remedying the
 injury to Justice Maltese who was, through no fault of his  own,  denied
 his  compensation and the opportunity to continue to serve the people of
 the state of New York, that Justice Maltese should be made whole, to the
 extent possible, in terms of his salary and his pension.
   § 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule, or  regulation,
 the  office  of court administration is authorized to pay Justice Joseph
 J. Maltese the salary he would have earned from the period of January 1,
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD15321-02-4
 S. 9295                             2
 
 2021 to November 7, 2021.   In the event  that  Justice  Maltese  worked
 full-  or  part-time during the period of January 1, 2021 to November 7,
 2021, outside earnings from such employment shall be deducted  from  the
 amount  payable  as judicial compensation, so that his total wages shall
 not exceed the amount he would have earned as wages from New York  state
 during  that period.  The office of court administration is also author-
 ized to pay to the New York state and local employees' retirement system
 the amount that would have been deducted and  paid  to  such  retirement
 system  for  the  pension  credit accrued by Justice Maltese during such
 period. All such payments shall  be  made  out  of  moneys  appropriated
 therefor.  The  New York state and local employees' retirement system is
 authorized to reinstate Justice Maltese to  the  retirement  system  for
 that  period  from  January  1,  2021 to November 7, 2021 and continuing
 until the present time nunc pro tunc, and to adjust  his  seniority  and
 add  any  additional  credits since returning to the court prospectively
 from November 8, 2021.  The  comptroller  is  authorized  to  waive  the
 payment  of  interest by Justice Maltese who received his pension during
 the period from January 1, 2021 to November 7, 2021, and is now required
 to repay it.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would allow Justice Joseph J. Maltese, a member of  the  New
 York  State  and  Local  Employees' Retirement System (NYSLERS), who was
 dismissed from employment as a supreme  court  justice  of  the  Unified
 Court  System  during the period beginning January 1, 2021 and ending on
 November 7, 2021, to obtain service credit for the duration of the peri-
 od of unemployment.   Additionally, Joseph  J.  Maltese  shall  be  paid
 pensionable  earnings for the period of January 1, 2021 through November
 7, 2021, the date of reemployment. To be eligible  for  this  additional
 service  credit,  Joseph  J.  Maltese, who retired and collected pension
 benefits during the period of unemployment, will be  required  to  repay
 those benefits. This bill would not be consistent with the NYSLERS poli-
 cy  of  granting  service  credit  only  when a salary has been paid for
 services performed.
   If this bill is enacted during the  2024  Legislative  Session,  there
 will  be  an  immediate past service cost of approximately $51,900 which
 will be borne by the New York State Office of Court Administration as  a
 one-time  payment.  This  estimate  assumes that payment will be made on
 March 1, 2025.
   This bill will not increase the future annual contributions of the New
 York State Office of Court Administration.
   The costs quoted above are in addition to the  employer  contributions
 required  for  any  increase  in  pensionable  earnings  reported to the
 NYSLERS and are estimated to be $48,000, which will be collected as part
 of the customary billing process.
   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.
 S. 9295                             3
 
   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 May 8, 2024, and intended for use only during the
 2024  Legislative  Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2024-175, prepared by the
 Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.