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NY State Legislature· S7749-2025Vetoed

Provides for a line of duty presumption for disabilities of deputy sheriffs in certain cities, the official text

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S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7749
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                May 5, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. JACKSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Cities 1
 
 AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation  to  disabilities
   of deputy sheriffs in certain cities
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The general municipal  law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
 section 207-r to read as follows:
   § 207-R. DISABILITIES OF DEPUTY SHERIFF MEMBERS OF A RETIREMENT SYSTEM
 IN  CERTAIN  CITIES.  1.  NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF ANY GENERAL,
 SPECIAL OR LOCAL LAW OR ADMINISTRATIVE CODE TO THE CONTRARY, BUT  EXCEPT
 FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION LAW AND THE LABOR LAW, ANY
 CONDITION  OF  IMPAIRMENT  OF  HEALTH  CAUSED  BY DISEASES OF THE HEART,
 RESULTING IN TOTAL OR PARTIAL DISABILITY OR DEATH  TO  A  PAID  EMPLOYEE
 PERFORMING THE DUTIES OF A DEPUTY SHERIFF IN THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT OF
 A CITY OF ONE MILLION OR MORE, WHERE SUCH EMPLOYEE IS DRAWN FROM COMPET-
 ITIVE  CIVIL  SERVICE LISTS, WHO SUCCESSFULLY PASSED A PHYSICAL EXAMINA-
 TION ON ENTRY INTO THE SERVICE OF  SUCH  DEPARTMENT,  WHICH  EXAMINATION
 FAILED  TO  REVEAL  ANY EVIDENCE OF SUCH CONDITION, SHALL BE PRESUMPTIVE
 EVIDENCE THAT IT WAS INCURRED IN THE PERFORMANCE AND DISCHARGE OF  DUTY,
 UNLESS THE CONTRARY BE PROVED BY COMPETENT EVIDENCE.
   2. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW, A DEPUTY SHERIFF MEMBER
 RETIRING  PURSUANT  TO THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION
 SHALL RECEIVE A PENSION EQUAL TO THREE-FOURTHS OF  SUCH  MEMBER'S  FINAL
 AVERAGE SALARY.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY: The proposed legislation would provide certain Deputy Sheriff
 members  of  the  New  York City Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS) a
 rebuttable statutory presumption that  a  qualifying  partial  or  total
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09780-02-5
 S. 7749                             2
 
 disability  or  death  related  to  a  heart disease was incurred in the
 performance of duty.
 
       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
      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
 S. 7749                             3

    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, a New York City Deputy Sheriff
 who becomes disabled due to a heart disease would generally be  eligible
 for an applicable ordinary disability retirement benefit 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 NYCERS Deputy Sheriff members who are disabled from a  heart
 disease  would  be  equal  to  75% of FAS without an offset for Workers'
 Compensation.
   The ordinary death benefit New York City Deputy Sheriff members  is  a
 lump sum payment generally equal to three times the member's salary plus
 a return of member contributions.
   Under  the proposed legislation, the performance of duty death benefit
 would generally be equal to a lifetime benefit  of  50%  of  a  member's
 wages  earned  during the last year of service, plus, if applicable, the
 Special Accidental Death Benefit (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 in the future from this  fiscal
 note is unknown. The cost of this proposed legislation could vary great-
 ly  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 the disabling heart disease is diagnosed.
   The estimated financial impact for disabled members  has  been  calcu-
 lated assuming 50% would have retired under an ordinary disability bene-
 fit,  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
 S. 7749                             4

 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 2025-54 dated May 2, 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.
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