Assembly Bill A10833

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10833
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               April 1, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of A. PHEFFER AMATO -- read once and referred to the
   Committee on Governmental Employees
 
 AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in  relation  to
   disability  benefits  for  certain  individuals employed by the Nassau
   county police department
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding
 a new section 63-j to read as follows:
   § 63-J. CERTAIN IMPAIRMENT OF HEALTH; PRESUMPTION. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY
 PROVISION OF THIS CHAPTER OR ANY GENERAL OR SPECIAL LAW TO THE CONTRARY,
 ANY  CONDITION  OF IMPAIRMENT OF HEALTH CAUSED BY DISEASES OF THE HEART,
 RESULTING IN THE DISABILITY OR DEATH TO A MEMBER WHO SERVES AS AN  AMBU-
 LANCE  MEDICAL  TECHNICIAN,  AMBULANCE  MEDICAL  COORDINATOR,  AMBULANCE
 MEDICAL TECHNICIAN/SUPERVISOR OR A MEMBER WHO PERFORMS AMBULANCE MEDICAL
 TECHNICIAN RELATED SERVICES, OR A POLICE MEDIC, POLICE  MEDIC  COORDINA-
 TOR, POLICE MEDIC SUPERVISOR, BUREAU DIRECTOR POLICE EMERGENCY AMBULANCE
 SERVICES  - COUNTY, ASSISTANT BUREAU DIRECTOR POLICE EMERGENCY AMBULANCE
 SERVICES - COUNTY, OR A MEMBER WHO PERFORMS POLICE MEDIC OR POLICE EMER-
 GENCY AMBULANCE RELATED SERVICES AND IS EMPLOYED IN  THE  NASSAU  COUNTY
 POLICE  DEPARTMENT, PRESENTLY EMPLOYED AND WHO SHALL HAVE SUSTAINED SUCH
 DISABILITY WHILE SO EMPLOYED, WHO SUCCESSFULLY PASSED A  PHYSICAL  EXAM-
 INATION ON ENTRY INTO SERVICE AS A MEMBER COVERED BY THIS SECTION, WHICH
 EXAMINATION  FAILED TO DISCLOSE EVIDENCE OF ANY DISEASE OR OTHER IMPAIR-
 MENT OF THE HEART, SHALL BE PRESUMPTIVE EVIDENCE THAT IT WAS INCURRED IN
 THE PERFORMANCE AND DISCHARGE OF DUTY, UNLESS THE CONTRARY CAN BE PROVED
 BY COMPETENT EVIDENCE.
   § 2. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding a new
 section 607-m to read as follows:
   § 607-M. CERTAIN IMPAIRMENT OF  HEALTH;  PRESUMPTION.  NOTWITHSTANDING
 ANY  PROVISION  OF  THIS  CHAPTER  OR  ANY GENERAL OR SPECIAL LAW TO THE
 CONTRARY, ANY CONDITION OF IMPAIRMENT OF HEALTH CAUSED  BY  DISEASES  OF
 THE  HEART,  RESULTING IN THE DISABILITY OR DEATH TO A MEMBER WHO SERVES
 AS AN AMBULANCE MEDICAL TECHNICIAN, AMBULANCE MEDICAL COORDINATOR, AMBU-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD01272-04-6
 A. 10833                            2
 
 LANCE MEDICAL TECHNICIAN/SUPERVISOR OR A MEMBER WHO  PERFORMS  AMBULANCE
 MEDICAL  TECHNICIAN  RELATED  SERVICES,  OR A POLICE MEDIC, POLICE MEDIC
 COORDINATOR, POLICE MEDIC SUPERVISOR, BUREAU DIRECTOR  POLICE  EMERGENCY
 AMBULANCE  SERVICES - COUNTY, ASSISTANT BUREAU DIRECTOR POLICE EMERGENCY
 AMBULANCE SERVICES - COUNTY, OR A MEMBER WHO PERFORMS  POLICE  MEDIC  OR
 POLICE  EMERGENCY  AMBULANCE  RELATED  SERVICES  AND  IS EMPLOYED IN THE
 NASSAU COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT, PRESENTLY EMPLOYED AND WHO  SHALL  HAVE
 SUSTAINED  SUCH  DISABILITY WHILE SO EMPLOYED, WHO SUCCESSFULLY PASSED A
 PHYSICAL EXAMINATION ON ENTRY INTO SERVICE AS A MEMBER COVERED  BY  THIS
 SECTION, WHICH EXAMINATION FAILED TO DISCLOSE EVIDENCE OF ANY DISEASE OR
 OTHER IMPAIRMENT OF THE HEART, SHALL BE PRESUMPTIVE EVIDENCE THAT IT WAS
 INCURRED  IN  THE PERFORMANCE AND DISCHARGE OF DUTY, UNLESS THE CONTRARY
 CAN BE PROVED BY COMPETENT EVIDENCE.
   § 3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,  none
 of  the  provisions  of  this  act shall be subject to the appropriation
 requirement of section 25 of the retirement and social security law.
   § 4. All costs associated with implementing the provisions of this act
 shall be borne by Nassau county.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill  would  provide  a  performance  of  duty  (POD)  disability
 presumption  to  certain  members  employed  by the Nassau county police
 department who  perform  police  medic  or  police  emergency  ambulance
 related  services,  are  impaired  due  to a condition of the heart, and
 could receive POD disability provided under Section 607-j of the retire-
 ment and social security law.
   This proposal would likely lead to an increased number of POD disabil-
 ity benefits for future retirees.
   We estimate that the annual contributions of Nassau  county  will  not
 materially increase because of this proposal.
   There will be an immediate past service cost of $211,000 which will be
 borne by Nassau county as a one-time payment. This estimate assumes that
 payment will be made on February 1, 2027.
   Further,  there would likely be some administrative costs to implement
 the provisions of this legislation.
   These estimated costs are based on 126 affected  members  employed  by
 Nassau  county,  with  annual  salary of approximately $21 million as of
 March 31, 2025.
   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 24, 2026, and intended for use only  during
 the  2026  Legislative  Session, is Fiscal Note Number 2026-50. As Chief
 A. 10833                            3
 
 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.