S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8231
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                                May 5, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. DURSO -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Governmental Employees
 
 AN ACT in relation to authorizing active members of the New  York  state
   and local police and fire retirement system to purchase service credit
   for service with the Long Island Railroad Company police department

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Notwithstanding any other  provision  of  law,  any  active
 member of the New York state and local police and fire retirement system
 who  was  a  former  police  officer of the Long Island Railroad company
 police department shall be eligible to apply to  purchase  up  to  three
 years  of  service credit for such employment if, within one year of the
 effective date of this act, the member shall (1) file a written  request
 to that effect with such retirement system; and (2) shall pay to the New
 York  state  and  local police and fire retirement system a sum equal to
 the product of the number of years of service being  claimed  and  three
 percent of such member's compensation earned during the twelve months of
 credited  service  immediately  preceding  the date that the member made
 application for credit pursuant to this section. Such members shall have
 at least five years of credited service, not including service  credited
 by  this section, to be eligible to receive the credit authorized pursu-
 ant to this section.
   § 2. All past service costs attributable to the implementation of this
 act shall be borne by the state of New York.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would allow active members of the New York State  and  Local
 Police  and  Fire  Retirement  System (NYSLPFRS) to purchase up to three
 years of service credit for time rendered as a  police  officer  in  the
 Long  Island  Railroad Company (LIRR) police department. To be eligible,
 members must have at least five years of credited service (not including
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08934-02-5
              

 A. 8231                             2
 
 this LIRR service). Currently, service with the LIRR must be credited in
 the Metropolitan  Transportation  Authority  police  retirement  program
 before  it  can be transferred to NYSLPFRS. Members would be required to
 pay  three  percent  of  their most recent compensation for each year of
 additional service credit granted by this bill.
   If this bill is enacted during the 2025  Legislative  Session,  it  is
 estimated  that  the  past service cost will be 22% of affected member's
 compensation for each year of service credit  that  is  purchased.  This
 cost  will  be  billed to the State of New York annually, based on those
 benefiting from this provision.
   The exact number of current members as  well  as  future  members  who
 could  be affected by this legislation cannot be readily determined. For
 one member known to be impacted by this bill, the cost to the  State  of
 New  York  will  be approximately $153,000, assuming it is paid March 1,
 2026.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership data as of March 31, 2024 was used in measuring the  impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2024 actuari-
 al  valuation.  Distributions  and  other statistics can be found in the
 2024 Report of the Actuary and the 2024 Annual  Comprehensive  Financial
 Report.  The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the
 2024  Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and the
 Codes, Rules and Regulations  of  the  State  of  New  York:  Audit  and
 Control.  The  Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March
 31, 2024 New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements
 and Supplementary Information.
   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 March 27, 2025, and intended for use only  during
 the  2025  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal Note No. 2025-125. As Chief
 Actuary of the New York State and  Local  Retirement  System,  I,  Aaron
 Schottin Young, hereby certify that this analysis complies with applica-
 ble  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.