S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7196
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               April 3, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  O'MARA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
 
 AN ACT in relation to authorizing Sgt. Bethany Kidd to  receive  certain
   service credit under a twenty year retirement plan
 
   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 to the contrary,
 Sergeant Bethany Kidd, a member of the New York state and  local  police
 and  fire  retirement system, who was appointed as a police officer with
 the Seneca Falls Police Department, in the town of Seneca Falls,  county
 of  Seneca,  on  February 4, 2014, and who, through no fault of her own,
 was enrolled to participate in the retirement plan contained in  section
 375-i  of  the  retirement  and social security law, shall be given full
 credit in the special twenty year retirement plan contained  in  section
 384-d  of  the  retirement and social security law for such service upon
 the election of the town of Seneca Falls to assume the  additional  cost
 of  such  service.  The town of Seneca Falls may so elect by filing with
 the state comptroller within 180 days of the effective date of this act,
 a resolution of its legislative body, together with  certification  that
 such  police  officer  did  not  bar  herself from participation in such
 retirement plan as a result of her own  negligence.    Thereafter,  such
 officer  may  elect  to be covered by the provisions of section 384-d of
 the retirement and social security law, and shall  be  entitled  to  the
 full rights and benefits associated with coverage under such section, by
 filing  a  request  to such effect with the state comptroller within one
 year of the effective date of this act.
   §  2.  All  past  service  costs  associated  with  implementing   the
 provisions  of  this  act shall be borne by the town of Seneca Falls, in
 the county of Seneca, and may be amortized over a ten year period.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04872-02-5
              

 S. 7196                             2
 
   This bill  would  allow  the  Town  of  Seneca  Falls  to  reopen  the
 provisions  of  section  384-d of the Retirement and Social Security Law
 for police officer Bethany Kidd.
   If this bill is enacted during the 2025 Legislative Session, we antic-
 ipate  that  there  will  be an increase of approximately $14,000 in the
 annual contributions of the Town of Seneca Falls  for  the  fiscal  year
 ending  March 31, 2026. In future years this cost will vary as the bill-
 ing rates and salary of Bethany Kidd change.
   In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
 an immediate past service cost of approximately $230,000 which  will  be
 borne  by  the Town of Seneca Falls as a one-time payment. This estimate
 assumes that payment will be made on February 1, 2026. If  the  Town  of
 Seneca  Falls  elects  to amortize this cost over a ten-year period, the
 cost for each year including interest would be $29,300.
   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 14, 2025, and intended for use only  during
 the  2025 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2025-6. As Chief Actu-
 ary of the New York State and Local Retirement System, I, Aaron Schottin
 Young, hereby certify that this analysis complies with applicable  Actu-
 arial  Standards of Practice as well as the Code of Professional Conduct
 and Qualification Standards for Actuaries Issuing Statements of Actuari-
 al Opinion of the American Academy of Actuaries, of which I am a member.