NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8338
SPONSOR: Carroll P TITLE OF BILL:
An act in relation to authorizing Daniel Woolley to receive an acci-
dental disability retirement
PURPOSE:
This bill would authorize Daniel Woolley to apply for an accidental
disability retirement from the New York state and local, police and fire
retirement system pursuant to section 363 of the retirement and social
security law.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one authorizes Daniel Woolley to apply for an accidental disa-
bility retirement from the New York state and local, police and fire
retirement system pursuant to section 363 of the retirement and social
security law.
Section two is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Daniel Woolley was employed as a police officer in the Town of Clarks-
town from February 1991 until his retirement in February 2023. In
February 2024, he was diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm of the heart.
With more advanced imaging, two additional aneurysms were discovered in
August 2024. It is with a reasonably high degree of medical certainty
that he worked with this extremely dangerous heart disease condition
prior to his retirement. His retirement date of February 2023 meant that
after 32 years of service he was unable to claim these heart conditions
and the disability associated with them while in service. This bill
would authorize Daniel Woolley to apply for an accidental disability
retirement from the New York state and local, police and fire retirement
system pursuant to section 363 of the retirement and social security
law.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
See fiscal note.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8338
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 13, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. P. CARROLL -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Governmental Employees
AN ACT in relation to authorizing Daniel Woolley to receive an acci-
dental disability retirement
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Daniel Woolley,
2 who was employed by the town of Clarkstown as a police officer from
3 February 1991 to February 2023 and who retired from service on February
4 25, 2023, and who was diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm of the heart on
5 February 15, 2024, and who, as of the effective date of this act, is
6 receiving a service retirement benefit from the New York state and local
7 police and fire retirement system, shall be entitled to apply for an
8 accidental disability retirement from the New York state and local
9 police and fire retirement system pursuant to section 363 of the retire-
10 ment and social security law if, within one year of the effective date
11 of this act, he shall file a written request with the state comptroller.
12 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would allow Daniel Woolley, a service retiree of the New
York State and Local Police and Fire Retirement System (NYSLPFRS), to
apply for an accidental disability retirement under section 363 of the
Retirement and Social Security Law.
If this bill is enacted during the 2025 Legislative Session, there
will be an immediate past service cost of approximately $86,900 as of
February 1, 2026, which will be shared by the State of New York and the
local participating employers in NYSLPFRS and spread over future billing
cycles.
This estimate assumes that the New York State and Local Retirement
System will approve Daniel Woolley for an accidental disability retire-
ment following their application pursuant to this legislation.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10096-06-5
A. 8338 2
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 28, 2025, and intended for use only during
the 2025 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2025-165. 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.
