Assembly Bill A10824

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10824
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               April 1, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  FITZPATRICK -- read once and referred to the
   Committee on Governmental Employees
 
 AN ACT to permit accidental death  benefits  and/or  special  accidental
   death benefits to be awarded to the beneficiary of Patricia Espinosa
 
   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, Patricia Espinosa, who was a member of the New
 York state and local police and fire retirement  system  employed  as  a
 police officer by the county of Nassau, and who died on January 31, 2026
 as  the result of an accident which occurred while she 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 statutory bene-
 ficiary  or  beneficiaries  of  Patricia  Espinosa  shall be eligible to
 receive the accidental death benefit  and/or  special  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
 Patricia Espinosa prior to the receipt of the accidental  death  benefit
 and/or  special  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 statutory beneficiary or bene-
 ficiaries.
   § 2. All costs associated with this act shall be borne by  the  county
 of Nassau.
   §  3.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to
 have been in full force and effect on and after January 31, 2026.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would make the statutory beneficiaries  of  deceased  police
 officer  Patricia Espinosa eligible to receive an accidental death bene-
 fit pursuant to sections 361 and 361-a  of  the  retirement  and  social
 security law (RSSL). The current death benefit will be recalculated, and
 payment will be made to the statutory beneficiaries retroactive to Janu-
 ary 31, 2026, the date of Patricia Espinosa's death.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD14921-04-6
 A. 10824                            2
 
   There will be an immediate past service cost of $3.18 million borne by
 the  county  of  Nassau  as  a  one-time payment. This cost assumes that
 payment will be made on February 1, 2027.
   This  bill  will  not  increase the county of Nassau's annual contrib-
 utions.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership data as of March 31, 2025 was used to measure the impact of
 the bill, the same data used in the Actuarial Valuations dated April  1,
 2025. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2025 Report
 of  the  Actuary and the 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. The
 actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2025  Annual
 Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and the Codes, Rules
 and  Regulations  of  the State of New York: Audit and Control. The fair
 value of assets and GASB disclosures can be found in the 2025  Financial
 Statements and Supplementary Information.
   Assumptions,  demographics,  and  other  considerations  may have been
 modified to better reflect specific provisions of any  proposed  benefit
 change(s).
   This  fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the viability
 of the bill, nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for the profes-
 sional judgment of an attorney.
   This estimate, dated March 26, 2026, and intended for use only  during
 the  2026  Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note Number 2026-143. As Chief
 Actuary of the New York State and Local Retirement System  (NYSLRS),  I,
 Aaron  Schottin  Young,  hereby certify that this analysis complies with
 applicable Actuarial Standards of  Practice  as  well  as  the  Code  of
 Professional  Conduct  and Qualification Standards for Actuaries Issuing
 Statements of Actuarial Opinion of the American Academy of Actuaries, of
 which I am a member. I am a member of  NYSLRS  but  do  not  believe  it
 impairs my objectivity.