Assembly Bill A11271

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   11271
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                                May 4, 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
   providing  for  a  performance  and  discharge of duty presumption for
   certain impairments of health of Nassau county fire marshals
 
   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 607-m to read as follows:
   §  607-M. CERTAIN IMPAIRMENTS OF HEALTH; PRESUMPTION. A. ANY MEMBER OF
 THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM EMPLOYED BY THE COUNTY OF NASSAU AS A COUNTY  FIRE
 MARSHAL,  CHIEF  FIRE  MARSHAL,  ASSISTANT  CHIEF FIRE MARSHAL, DIVISION
 SUPERVISING  FIRE  MARSHAL,  SUPERVISING  FIRE  MARSHAL,  FIRE  MARSHAL,
 ASSISTANT  FIRE  MARSHAL  AND  FIRE MARSHAL TRAINEE SHALL BE ELIGIBLE TO
 RETIRE PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION.
   B. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF THIS CHAPTER OR OF ANY GENERAL  OR
 SPECIAL  LAW  TO  THE  CONTRARY,  ANY  CONDITION OF IMPAIRMENT OF HEALTH
 CAUSED BY DISEASES OF THE LUNG, RESULTING  IN  DISABILITY  TO  A  MEMBER
 COVERED  BY  THIS SECTION, PRESENTLY EMPLOYED, WHO SUCCESSFULLY PASSED A
 PHYSICAL EXAMINATION ON ENTRY INTO SERVICE AS  A  COUNTY  FIRE  MARSHAL,
 CHIEF  FIRE  MARSHAL, ASSISTANT CHIEF FIRE MARSHAL, DIVISION SUPERVISING
 FIRE MARSHAL, SUPERVISING FIRE MARSHAL,  FIRE  MARSHAL,  ASSISTANT  FIRE
 MARSHAL  AND  FIRE MARSHAL TRAINEE IN THE EMPLOY OF NASSAU COUNTY, WHICH
 EXAMINATION FAILED TO DISCLOSE EVIDENCE OF ANY DISEASE OR OTHER  IMPAIR-
 MENT  OF  THE LUNG SHALL BE PRESUMPTIVE EVIDENCE THAT IT WAS INCURRED IN
 THE PERFORMANCE AND DISCHARGE OF DUTY, UNLESS THE CONTRARY BE PROVEN  BY
 COMPETENT EVIDENCE.
   §  2.  All  the  past  services costs associated with implementing the
 provisions of this act shall be borne by the county of Nassau and may be
 amortized over a period of ten years.
   § 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. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD14623-02-6
 A. 11271                            2
 
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill  would  provide  a  performance  of  duty  (POD) disability
 presumption to certain fire marshal titles employed by Nassau county who
 are impaired due to a disease of the lung. The benefit is 50%  of  final
 average salary, as defined in section 607-j of the retirement 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 $23,300 which will  be
 borne by Nassau county as a one-time payment. This estimate assumes that
 payment  will  be  made  on February 1, 2027. If Nassau county elects to
 amortize this cost over 10 years, the cost for each year will be $2,980.
   Further, there could be some administrative  costs  to  implement  the
 provisions of this legislation.
   These  estimated  costs  are  based on 42 affected members employed by
 Nassau county, with annual salary of approximately $7.2  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 April 28, 2026, and intended for use only during
 the 2026 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note Number 2026-112.  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 Pro-
 fessional 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.