Senate Bill S8142A

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  8142--A
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 15, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. JACKSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
   -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered  reprinted  as  amended
   and recommitted to said committee
 
 AN  ACT  to amend the retirement and social security law and the general
   municipal law, in  relation  to  accidental  disability  benefits  for
   certain  deputy  sheriff members in the sheriff's department of a city
   with a population of one million or more
 
   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.  PERFORMANCE OF DUTY DISABILITY RETIREMENT. A. ANY MEMBER OF
 THE NEW YORK CITY EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM WHO IS  EMPLOYED  BY  THE
 CITY  OF  NEW  YORK  AS  A DEPUTY SHERIFF, AND WHO BECOMES PHYSICALLY OR
 MENTALLY INCAPACITATED AS THE NATURAL AND PROXIMATE RESULT OF AN INJURY,
 AS DESCRIBED IN SUBDIVISION B OF THIS SECTION, SUSTAINED IN THE PERFORM-
 ANCE OR DISCHARGE OF SUCH MEMBER'S DUTIES, SHALL BE PAID  A  PERFORMANCE
 OF DUTY DISABILITY RETIREMENT ALLOWANCE EQUAL TO THREE-QUARTERS OF FINAL
 AVERAGE  SALARY, SUBJECT TO SECTION 13-176 OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE OF
 THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
   B. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF THIS CHAPTER OR OF ANY GENERAL  OR
 SPECIAL  LAW  TO  THE  CONTRARY,  FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, A MEMBER
 COVERED BY THIS SECTION IS INJURED WHEN SUCH MEMBER CONTRACTS HIV (WHERE
 THE MEMBER MAY HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO A BODILY FLUID  OF  A  PERSON  UNDER
 SUCH  MEMBER'S  CARE OR TREATMENT, OR WHILE SUCH MEMBER EXAMINED, TRANS-
 PORTED OR OTHERWISE HAD CONTACT WITH SUCH PERSON, IN THE PERFORMANCE  OF
 SUCH  MEMBER'S  DUTIES),  TUBERCULOSIS OR HEPATITIS, WILL BE PRESUMED TO
 HAVE CONTRACTED SUCH DISEASE IN THE PERFORMANCE  OR  DISCHARGE  OF  SUCH
 MEMBER'S DUTIES, UNLESS THE CONTRARY BE PROVED BY COMPETENT EVIDENCE.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10889-04-5
 S. 8142--A                          2
              

 
   §  2.  The  general  municipal  law is amended by adding a new section
 207-r to read as follows:
   §  207-R.  PERFORMANCE  OF  DUTY  DISABILITY RETIREMENT; NEW YORK CITY
 DEPUTY SHERIFFS. NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF ANY GENERAL,  SPECIAL
 OR  LOCAL  LAW OR ADMINISTRATIVE CODE TO THE CONTRARY, A MEMBER WHO IS A
 DEPUTY SHERIFF IN THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT OF A CITY WITH  A  POPULATION
 OF  ONE  MILLION OR MORE WHERE SUCH EMPLOYEES ARE DRAWN FROM COMPETITIVE
 CIVIL SERVICE LISTS AND WHO  IN  PERFORMANCE  OF  SUCH  MEMBER'S  DUTIES
 CONTRACTS HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS (HIV) (WHERE SUCH MEMBER MAY HAVE
 BEEN  EXPOSED  TO A BODILY FLUID OF A PERSON UNDER SUCH MEMBER'S CARE OR
 TREATMENT, OR WHILE SUCH MEMBER EXAMINED, TRANSPORTED, RESCUED OR OTHER-
 WISE HAD CONTACT WITH SUCH PERSON, IN THE PERFORMANCE OF  SUCH  MEMBER'S
 DUTIES),  TUBERCULOSIS OR HEPATITIS SHALL BE PRESUMED TO HAVE CONTRACTED
 SUCH DISEASE AS A NATURAL AND PROXIMATE RESULT OF AN  ACCIDENTAL  INJURY
 RECEIVED  IN  THE  PERFORMANCE OR DISCHARGE OF SUCH MEMBER'S DUTIES, AND
 NOT RESULTING FROM SUCH MEMBER'S WILLFUL NEGLIGENCE, UNLESS THE CONTRARY
 BE PROVED BY COMPETENT EVIDENCE.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY: This proposed legislation would provide to NYCERS Tier 4  and
 Tier  6 Deputy Sheriffs a rebuttable statutory presumption that a quali-
 fying disability or death related to HIV,  Tuberculosis,  and  Hepatitis
 was  incurred  in  the  performance of duty and provide a performance of
 duty disability benefit equal to 75% of the member's Final Average Sala-
 ry.
 
       ILLUSTRATION - INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
          by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Thousands)
 
                     One Incident        One Incident Per Year
 Year        Disability      Death     Disability      Death
 2026                 55         187           55         187
 2027                 55         187           112        379
 2028                 55         187           171        577
 2029                 55         187           231        780
 2030                 55         187           293        990
 2031                 55         187           357        1,207
 2032                 55         187           423        1,429
 2033                 55         187           491        1,659
 2034                 55         187           561        1,895
 2035                 55         187           633        2,138
 2036                 55         187           707        2,389
 2037                 55         187           784        2,647
 2038                 55         187           863        2,913
 2039                 55         187           944        3,187
 2040                 0          0             972        3,283
 2041                 0          0             1,001      3,381
 2042                 0          0             1,031      3,483
 2043                 0          0             1,062      3,587
 2044                 0          0             1,094      3,695
 2045                 0          0             1,127      3,805
 2046                 0          0             1,161      3,920
 2047                 0          0             1,196      4,037
 2048                 0          0             1,231      4,158
 S. 8142--A                          3
 
 2049                 0          0             1,268      4,283
 2050                 0          0             1,306      4,412
    Employer contribution impact beyond Fiscal Year 2050 is not shown.

   The potential increases in employer contributions will be allocated to
 New York City.
   PRESENT  VALUE  OF  BENEFITS:  The  Present  Value  of Benefits is the
 discounted expected value of benefits paid to  current  members  if  all
 assumptions are met, including future service accrual and pay increases.
 Future new hires are not included in this present value.
 
          INITIAL INCREASE (DECREASE) IN ACTUARIAL PRESENT VALUES
                   as of June 30, 2024 ($ in Thousands)
 Present Value (PV)                 Per Disability      Per Death
 (1) PV of Employer Contributions:        467           1,577
 (2) PV of Employee Contributions:       (48)               0
 Total PV of Benefits (1) + (2):          419           1,577
 
   UNFUNDED  ACCRUED  LIABILITY  (UAL): Actuarial Accrued Liabilities are
 the portion of the Present Value of Benefits allocated to past  service.
 Changes in UAL per incident would be recognized as ongoing gain/loss.
 
                AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
 Recognized as Ongoing Gain/Loss    Per Disability      Per Death
 Increase (Decrease) in UAL:        467 K               1,577 K
 Number of Payments:                14                  14
 Amortization Payment:              55 K                187 K
 
   CENSUS DATA: The number of members who will benefit in the future from
 this proposed legislation is unknown. The estimates presented herein are
 based  on  preliminary  census  data  collected as of June 30, 2024. The
 census data for the potentially impacted population used to develop  the
 average costs is summarized below.
                                         NYCERS
                Active Members
                - Number Count:          132
                - Average Age:           43.5
                - Average Service:       11.9
                - Average Salary:        94,600
 
   IMPACT  ON MEMBER BENEFITS: Currently, active Tier 4 or Tier 6 members
 of NYCERS who are employed as Deputy Sheriffs and become disabled due to
 HIV, Tuberculosis, or Hepatitis  would  generally  be  eligible  for  an
 applicable  ordinary  disability  retirement after attaining 10 years of
 service. The disability benefit is  a  lifetime  payment  equal  to  the
 greatest  of  1/3  of  Final  Average  Salary (FAS), 1/60th of FAS times
 service, or the service retirement benefit, if eligible.
   Under the proposed legislation, the  performance  of  duty  disability
 benefit  for  Tier  4  or Tier 6 Deputy Sheriff members who are disabled
 from HIV, Tuberculosis, or Hepatitis would be equal to 75% of  FAS  with
 an offset for Workers' Compensation.
   The  ordinary  death  benefit for NYCERS Deputy Sheriffs is a lump sum
 payment generally equal to three  times  the  member's  salary,  plus  a
 refund of member contributions.
   The  performance  of  duty death benefit would generally be equal to a
 lifetime benefit of 50% of a member's wages  earned  during  their  last
 S. 8142--A                          4
 
 year of service, plus, if applicable, the Special Accidental Death Bene-
 fit (SADB) payable under General Municipal Law section 208-f.
   SADB  for  Deputy  Sheriffs  was enacted by Chapter 720 of the Laws of
 2023 and all accidental deaths are assumed to qualify for SADB.
   ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The  estimates  presented  herein  have  been
 calculated  based  on the Revised 2021 Actuarial Assumptions and Methods
 of the impacted retirement systems.
   The number of members who will benefit from this proposed  legislation
 is  unknown.  The  cost  of this proposed legislation could vary greatly
 depending on the number of future  members  who  benefit  and  on  their
 length  of service, age, and salary history. In particular, the increase
 would be greater for a member who is not yet eligible  for  an  ordinary
 disability benefit when disabled.
   The  estimated  financial  impact for disabled members has been calcu-
 lated assuming 50% would have retired under the current  ordinary  disa-
 bility  benefit,  and  50%  would have continued working if the proposed
 legislation were not passed.
   RISK AND UNCERTAINTY: The costs presented in this Fiscal  Note  depend
 highly  on  the  actuarial  assumptions, methods, and models used, demo-
 graphics of the impacted population, and other factors such  as  invest-
 ment,  contribution, and other risks. If actual experience deviates from
 actuarial  assumptions,  the  actual  costs  could  differ  from   those
 presented  herein.  Quantifying  these risks is beyond the scope of this
 Fiscal Note.
   This Fiscal Note is intended to measure  pension-related  impacts  and
 does  not  include other potential costs (e.g., administrative and Other
 Postemployment Benefits). This Fiscal Note does not reflect any  chapter
 laws that may have been enacted during the current legislative session.
   STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: Marek Tyszkiewicz and Gregory Zelikov-
 sky  are members of the Society of Actuaries and the American Academy of
 Actuaries. We are members of NYCERS, but do not believe it  impairs  our
 objectivity,  and  we  meet  the Qualification Standards of the American
 Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion  contained  herein.
 To  the  best  of  our knowledge, the results contained herein have been
 prepared in accordance with generally accepted actuarial principles  and
 procedures  and  with  the Actuarial Standards of Practice issued by the
 Actuarial Standards Board.
   FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This Fiscal Note  2025-66  dated  May  20,
 2025  was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Retirement
 Systems and Pension Funds and is intended for use only during  the  2025
 Legislative Session.