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.
