Authorizes the granting of retirement service credit in the optional twenty year retirement plan to Duane A. Palma for service as a correction officer, the official text

S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6279
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               March 3, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. BRONSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Governmental Employees
 
 AN ACT to authorize the granting of retirement  service  credit  in  the
   optional  twenty year retirement plan to Duane A. Palma for service as
   a correction officer

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, Duane A.
 Palma,  a  deputy  sheriff currently employed by the Monroe county sher-
 iff's office who was employed as a  correction  officer  by  the  Monroe
 county  sheriff's  office  jail  bureau  beginning on February 22, 1999,
 shall be given full credit in the optional twenty year retirement  plan,
 established  pursuant  to  sections  552  and  553 of the retirement and
 social security law, for such employment as a correction officer at  the
 Monroe  county  sheriff's  office  jail  bureau upon the election of the
 county of Monroe to assume the additional cost of such service  and  his
 election  to participate in such plan. The county of Monroe may so elect
 within one year of the effective date of this act, by  filing  with  the
 state  comptroller  a  resolution of its local legislative body together
 with certification that such member did not  bar  himself  from  partic-
 ipation in such retirement plan as a result of his own negligence.
   §  2. Such deputy sheriff may elect to be covered by the provisions of
 sections 552 and 553 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 that effect with the state
 comptroller within eighteen months of the effective date of this act.
   § 3. All employer past service costs associated with  the  implementa-
 tion of this act shall be borne by the county of Monroe and may be amor-
 tized over a period of five years.
   § 4. 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.
                                                            LBD03620-02-5
 A. 6279                             2
 
   This bill would allow Duane A. Palma, a current member of the New York
 State  and  Local  Employees'  Retirement System (NYSLERS) employed as a
 deputy sheriff by Monroe County and covered under the  20-year  plan  of
 §552 and §553 of the Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL), to elect
 to  be  covered  under such plan retroactive to February 22, 1999, their
 date of membership in NYSLERS.
   If this bill is enacted during the  2025  Legislative  Session,  there
 will  be  an immediate past service cost of approximately $160,000 which
 will be borne by Monroe County as  a  one-time  payment.  This  estimate
 assumes  that payment will be made on February 1, 2026. If Monroe County
 elects to amortize this cost over a five-year period, the cost for  each
 year including interest would be $35,900.
   This  bill will not increase the future annual contributions of Monroe
 County.
   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 February 19, 2025,  and  intended  for  use  only
 during  the  2025  Legislative  Session,  is Fiscal Note No. 2025-57. As
 Chief Actuary of the New York State  and  Local  Retirement  System,  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.