Authorizes the Onondaga county sheriff's department to offer the optional twenty year retirement plan to certain deputy sheriffs, the official text

S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7934
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              April 16, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. MAGNARELLI, HUNTER, STIRPE, LEMONDES -- read once
   and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees
 
 AN  ACT in relation to authorizing the Onondaga County Sheriff's Depart-
   ment, in the county of Onondaga, to offer  the  optional  twenty  year
   retirement  plan  to  deputy  sheriffs Brittany E. Dorn, Noah C. Hunt,
   Daniel D. Lorenzini, Gordon J.  Lopez, Tre C. Fesinger, Christopher L.
   Van Dusen
 
   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,
 the  Onondaga  county sheriff's department, in the county of Onondaga, a
 participating employer in the New York state local employees' retirement
 system, which previously elected  to  offer  the  optional  twenty  year
 retirement  plan,  established pursuant to section 552 of the retirement
 and social security law, to deputy sheriffs employed  by  the  sheriff's
 department,  is  hereby  authorized  to  make participation in such plan
 available to Brittany E. Dorn, Noah C. Hunt, Daniel D. Lorenzini, Gordon
 J. Lopez, Tre C. Fesinger, Christopher L.  Van  Dusen,  deputy  sheriffs
 employed  by  the county of Onondaga, who, for reasons not ascribable to
 their own negligence, failed to make timely applications to  participate
 in such optional twenty year retirement plan. The county of Onondaga may
 so  elect  by  filing  with the state comptroller, on or before 180 days
 after this act shall have become law, a resolution of its governing body
 together with certification that such deputy sheriffs did not bar  them-
 selves  from  participation  in the retirement plan as a result of their
 own negligence. Thereafter, such deputy sheriffs may individually  elect
 to  be  covered  by  the provisions of section 552 of the retirement and
 social security law and shall be entitled to the full rights  and  bene-
 fits  associated  with  coverage under such section, by filing a request
 with the state within one year of the effective date of this act.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09049-04-5
 A. 7934                             2
 
   §  2.  All  past  service  costs  associated  with  implementing   the
 provisions of this act shall be borne by the county of Onondaga.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill  would  allow  Onondaga  County to reopen the provisions of
 Article 14-B of the Retirement and Social Security Law (RSSL) to Britta-
 ny E.  Dorn, Noah C. Hunt, Daniel D. Lorenzini, Gordon J. Lopez, Tre  C.
 Fesinger, and Christopher L. Van Dusen.
   If this bill is enacted during the 2025 Legislative Session, we antic-
 ipate  that  there  will  be an increase of approximately $39,000 in the
 annual contributions of Onondaga County for the fiscal year ending March
 31, 2026. In future years this cost will vary but is expected to average
 5.9% of salary annually.
   In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
 an immediate past service cost of approximately $382,000 which  will  be
 borne  by  Onondaga  County as a one-time payment. This estimate assumes
 that payment will be made on February 1, 2026.
   These estimates are based on six affected members employed by Onondaga
 County, with annual salary of approximately $529,000  as  of  March  31,
 2024.
   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 April 9, 2025, and intended for use only during
 the 2025 Legislative Session, is Fiscal  Note  No.  2025-108.  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.