Creates the Hudson River pilots surcharge board; provides that the board shall determine the rate of surcharge to be applied and benefits provided to Hudson River pilots.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3226
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 24, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CANESTRARI -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the navigation law, in relation to the creation of a
Hudson River pilots surcharge board
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 4 of section 89-a of the navi-
2 gation law is amended by adding two new subparagraphs 1-b and 1-c to
3 read as follows:
4 (1-b) There is hereby created a Hudson River pilots surcharge board
5 which shall determine the rate of the surcharge provided in subparagraph
6 one-c of this paragraph. The surcharge board shall determine eligibility
7 for benefits pursuant to subdivisions five and seven of this section.
8 The Hudson River pilots surcharge board shall consist of two members
9 as follows: the president of the board of commissioners of pilots of the
10 state of New York, or his or her designee from the board of commission-
11 ers, and the president of the Hudson River pilots association, or his or
12 her designee who must be a member of such association. In the event the
13 two members cannot reach a decision on the surcharge rate, a third
14 member shall be appointed by the two members from a list submitted by
15 the American Arbitration Association from its lists of commercial arbi-
16 trators. If, after submission of such a list, the two members of the
17 board fail to agree upon a single arbitrator as the third member, then
18 the American Arbitration Association shall be authorized to select and
19 submit the name of the third member for appointment. Such third member
20 shall be appointed within ten days of a deadlocked vote of the Hudson
21 River pilot surcharge board. Such members shall vote at meetings called
22 upon written notice mailed seven calendar days in advance of the meet-
23 ing, to determine the rate of surcharge, assisted as necessary by quali-
24 fied actuaries or accountants, authorized in clause (i) of subparagraph
25 one-c of this paragraph during each calendar quarter in time sufficient
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06074-01-1
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1 for such surcharge to be in effect on the following January first, April
2 first, July first, and October first of each year. Written notice of
3 meetings may be waived if done so with unanimous consent of all board
4 members. Members of the Hudson River pilot surcharge board shall be
5 subject to section seventeen of the public officers law.
6 (1-c) (i) In addition to the base pilotage charge set forth in subpar-
7 agraph one of this paragraph, there is hereby established a surcharge on
8 every foreign vessel and every American vessel under register navigating
9 that portion of the Hudson River specified in this section. Such
10 surcharge, as determined quarterly by the Hudson River pilots surcharge
11 board, shall be imposed for the exclusive purpose of the funding, on a
12 sound actuarial basis, the retirement benefits for Hudson River pilots,
13 described in clause (ii) of this subparagraph.
14 (ii) The amount of the surcharge described in clause (i) of this
15 subparagraph on the date pilotage rates are computed shall not exceed:
16 PILOTAGE UNITSSURCHARGE
17 0 to 50$222.44
18 51 to 100$268.00
19 over 100$2.68 per pilot unit
20 during the first twelve months after the effective date of this
21 subparagraph.
22 The amount of the surcharge described in clause (i) of this subparagraph
23 on the date pilotage rates are computed shall not exceed:
24 PILOTAGE UNITSSURCHARGE
25 0 to 50$371.01
26 51 to 100$447.00
27 over 100$4.47 per pilot unit
28 during the period beginning with the thirteenth month and ending with
29 the twenty-fourth month after the effective date of this subparagraph.
30 The amount of the surcharge described in clause (i) of this subpara-
31 graph on the date pilotage rates are computed shall not exceed:
32 PILOTAGE UNITSSURCHARGE
33 0 to 50$499.66
34 51 to 100$602.00
35 over 100$6.02 per pilot unit
36 during the period beginning with the twenty-fourth month and ending with
37 the thirty-sixth month after the effective date of this subparagraph.
38 (iii) Following the thirty-sixth month after the effective date of
39 this subparagraph, the amount of the surcharge as determined by the
40 surcharge board shall not exceed the greater of thirty-five percent of
41 the sum of the base pilotage charges set forth in subparagraph one of
42 this paragraph for Section 2, Upper River; Yonkers, to all ports beyond
43 Hyde Park through Albany or Troy, as amended; or nine hundred thousand
44 dollars in any calendar year.
45 (iv) The scale of charges set forth in this subparagraph is deemed a
46 pilotage fee and shall be subject to the provisions of section ninety-
47 five of this article.
48 (v) (A) The proceeds of the surcharge provided for in this section
49 shall be deposited in an account maintained by the Hudson River pilots
50 association for the benefit of Hudson River pilots eligible for benefits
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1 as provided in this section, from which account all such benefits and
2 the reasonable expenses for administration thereof shall be paid. The
3 monies on deposit in such account shall be referred to hereafter as the
4 "retirement assets". The retirement assets shall be used to pay a yearly
5 target retirement benefit to (I) Hudson River pilots active on the date
6 pilotage rates are computed pursuant to this subparagraph and thereaft-
7 er, upon retirement on or after the age of sixty, or disability retire-
8 ment; (II) retired Hudson River pilots or Hudson River pilots receiving
9 disability retirement benefits on the date of adoption; and (III) to
10 surviving spouses of pilots, retired pilots or pilots receiving disabil-
11 ity retirement as provided for below.
12 (B) Hudson River pilots who are also Sandy Hook pilots eligible for
13 benefits under item (B) of subclause one of clause (ii) of subparagraph
14 one of paragraph (b) of subdivision four of section eighty-eight of this
15 article shall be excluded from receiving any benefits specified in
16 subdivision five of this section.
17 (C) No individual other than those specified in subclause (A) of this
18 clause shall be eligible for benefits pursuant to the surcharge
19 described in clause (i) of this subparagraph without the approval of the
20 Hudson River pilots surcharge board.
21 (D) The funds generated by the surcharge imposed by clause (i) of this
22 subparagraph shall be administered by the executive committee of the
23 Hudson River pilots association, or any successors thereto.
24 (E) The surcharges pursuant to clause (i) of this subparagraph shall
25 be collected by the agent of the Hudson River pilots. Funds generated
26 for these purposes shall be audited annually by the surcharge board to
27 ensure proper funding for the purposes set forth in clause (i) of this
28 subparagraph.
29 § 2. Section 89-a of the navigation law is amended by adding seven new
30 subdivisions 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 to read as follows:
31 5. (a)(1) Each Hudson River pilot active on the date pilotage rates
32 are computed pursuant to this section who retires after twenty-five
33 years of service and after reaching sixty years of age, or becomes
34 eligible for disability retirement benefits, shall receive a target
35 yearly benefit computed as a single life annuity, initially equal to
36 fifty percent of the amount which is equal to the highest annual earn-
37 ings from service as a full branch Hudson River pilot based upon the
38 pilotage charges set forth in subparagraph one of paragraph (b) of
39 subdivision four of this section during the last three full calendar
40 years of service as an active pilot prior to retirement reduced as
41 provided in subdivision nine of this section and adjusted as provided in
42 subdivision eight of this section.
43 (2) A Hudson River pilot active on the date pilotage rates are
44 computed pursuant to this section who retires or becomes eligible for
45 disability retirement benefits after reaching sixty-five years of age
46 and after thirty years of service as a Hudson River pilot shall receive
47 a target yearly benefit computed as a single life annuity, initially
48 equal to sixty percent of the amount which is equal to the highest annu-
49 al earnings from service as a full branch Hudson River pilot based upon
50 the pilotage charges set forth in subparagraph one of paragraph (b) of
51 subdivision four of this section during the last three full calendar
52 years of service as an active pilot prior to retirement reduced as
53 provided in subdivision nine of this section and adjusted as provided in
54 subdivision eight of this section.
55 (b)(1) Each retired Hudson River pilot and each Hudson River pilot
56 receiving disability retirement benefits on or after the date pilotage
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1 rates are computed pursuant to this section shall receive a target year-
2 ly benefit computed as a single life annuity, initially equal to fifty
3 percent of the highest annual earnings from service as a full branch
4 Hudson River pilot based upon the base pilotage charges set forth in
5 subparagraph one of paragraph (b) of subdivision four of this section
6 during the last three full calendar years of service as an active pilot
7 prior to retirement reduced as provided in subdivision nine of this
8 section and adjusted as provided in subdivision eight of this section.
9 (2) Each retired Hudson River pilot and each Hudson River pilot
10 receiving disability retirement benefits who retired or became eligible
11 for disability retirement benefits after reaching sixty-five years of
12 age and after thirty years of service as a Hudson River pilot on or
13 after the date pilotage rates are computed pursuant to this section
14 shall receive a target yearly benefit computed as a single life annuity,
15 initially equal to sixty percent of the highest annual earnings from
16 service as a full branch Hudson River pilot based upon the base pilotage
17 charges set forth in subparagraph one of paragraph (b) of subdivision
18 four of this section during the last three full calendar years of
19 service as an active pilot prior to retirement reduced as provided in
20 subdivision nine of this section and adjusted as provided in subdivision
21 eight of this section.
22 (c) The benefits described in paragraph (b) of this subdivision shall
23 only be available to retired Hudson River pilots who retired prior to
24 the year nineteen hundred ninety during the first twelve months after
25 the effective date of this paragraph. The benefits described in para-
26 graph (b) of this subdivision shall be available to all retired Hudson
27 River pilots who retired prior to the year two thousand after the first
28 twelve months from the effective date of this paragraph. The benefits
29 described in paragraph (b) of this subdivision shall be available to all
30 retired Hudson River pilots and pilots on disability retirement after
31 the first twenty-four months from the effective date of this paragraph.
32 6. (a) A Hudson River pilot eligible for benefits set forth in subdi-
33 vision five of this section, who retires, shall not be entitled to
34 commence receiving benefits until the commencement of the benefit
35 payment period next following the date on which such pilot retired or
36 became eligible for disability retirement benefits. For accounting
37 purposes, the benefit payment periods shall consist of a full calendar
38 quarter commencing on January first, April first, July first, and Octo-
39 ber first of each year, but the first payments of benefits shall be made
40 during the months of March, June, September, and December.
41 (b) No active Hudson River pilot shall commence receiving benefits
42 until a properly completed resignation as an active pilot specifying a
43 proposed date of retirement has been submitted in writing to the Hudson
44 River pilots executive committee, or successor thereto, prior to Novem-
45 ber first, if retirement is to become effective on the first day of the
46 following January; prior to February first, if retirement is to become
47 effective on the first day of the following April; prior to May first,
48 if retirement is to become effective on the first day of the following
49 July; and, prior to August first, if retirement is to become effective
50 on the first day of the following October.
51 (c) For the purpose of the computations described in subdivision five
52 of this section, service by a pilot of more than six months of such
53 pilot's last calendar year as an active pilot shall be considered a full
54 calendar year.
55 (d) If a retired Hudson River pilot or a Hudson River pilot receiving
56 disability retirement benefits dies without a surviving spouse, the
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1 balance of the target yearly pension benefit for the remainder of the
2 benefit payment period shall be paid to the deceased pilot's estate or
3 designated beneficiary after which all rights to benefits shall be
4 terminated.
5 7. (a) The surviving spouse of a Hudson River pilot described in
6 subdivision five of this section who dies while in active service shall
7 receive a target yearly pension benefit equal to fifty percent of the
8 amount which such deceased pilot would have received under subdivision
9 five of this section had retirement immediately preceded the date of
10 death, reduced as provided in subdivision nine of this section and
11 adjusted as provided in subdivision eight of this section.
12 (b) With respect to Hudson River pilots described in subdivision five
13 of this section, the surviving spouse of a deceased retired Hudson River
14 pilot or a deceased Hudson River pilot receiving disability retirement
15 benefits on the date of death, shall receive a target yearly benefit
16 equal to the deceased pilot's benefit for the remainder of the benefit
17 payment period in which death occurred, and thereafter fifty percent of
18 the amount received by the deceased pilot on the date of death, reduced
19 as provided in subdivision nine of this section and adjusted as provided
20 in subdivision eight of this section.
21 (c) Upon the death of the surviving spouse of a deceased Hudson River
22 pilot who was receiving benefits, the balance of the target yearly
23 pension benefit for the remainder of the benefit payment period shall be
24 paid to the deceased surviving spouse's estate or designated beneficiary
25 after which all rights to benefits shall terminate.
26 8. The Hudson River pilots surcharge board or any committee appointed
27 thereby shall adjust the benefits described in subdivision five of this
28 section by not more than one-half of the cumulative adjustment in the
29 "Consumer Price Index-All Urban Consumers-(CPI-U) N.Y.-Northern
30 N.J.-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-All Items" on the earlier of each third anni-
31 versary of the effective date of this subdivision or the date on which
32 such consumer price index increases by an increment of more than twelve
33 percent from the level in effect on the date (a) this subdivision took
34 effect, or (b) of any subsequent adjustment to such rates. These adjust-
35 ments shall take place for a period of fifteen years from the effective
36 date of this subdivision with respect to pilots described in paragraph
37 (b) of subdivision five of this section and for a period of fifteen
38 years from the date of retirement with respect to pilots described in
39 paragraph (a) of subdivision five of this section. Adjustments granted
40 to retired pilots or their surviving spouses retired less than the full
41 three year interval between adjustments shall have such adjustments
42 pro-rated to the number of months they have been retired prior to such
43 adjustment. The determination by the surcharge board, or any committee
44 appointed thereby, of the amount of such adjustment shall be final.
45 9. In the event that in any calendar year the surcharge described in
46 subparagraph one-c of paragraph (b) of subdivision four of this section
47 is subject to the limitation set forth in such subparagraph one-c the
48 benefits payable under paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision five of
49 this section and subdivision seven of this section and the portion of
50 the surcharge allocable thereto, shall be reduced on a pro-rata basis.
51 The Hudson River pilots' surcharge board shall determine the amount of
52 such reductions which determinations shall be final.
53 10. Pilots eligible for benefits as provided in this section shall
54 have ninety days to choose to enroll in the retirement benefit described
55 in subdivision five of this section commencing from the date that indi-
56 vidual becomes eligible to receive such benefits. Pilots eligible for
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1 benefits as provided in this section who retire from active service and
2 choose to enroll in the retirement benefit described in subdivision five
3 of this section shall not be eligible to receive any other retirement
4 benefit from the Hudson River pilots association. The decision to
5 enroll, or decline to enroll, in the benefit provided in subdivision
6 five of this section shall be irrevocable after ninety days from the
7 date that individual shall become eligible to receive such benefit.
8 11. A "Hudson River pilot" for the purposes of this section is defined
9 as an individual holding a license to act as Hudson River pilot for the
10 waters of the Hudson River north of a line running from the foot of Main
11 Street in Yonkers to Alpine, New Jersey and south of the dam at Troy,
12 issued by the board of commissioners of pilots of the state of New York.
13 A "retired Hudson River pilot" for the purposes of this section is a
14 pilot who retired from active service in the Hudson River pilots associ-
15 ation. A "Hudson River pilot on disability retirement" for the purposes
16 of this section is defined as a pilot who became disabled by accident or
17 sickness, and was certified as disabled by a physician chosen by the
18 Hudson River pilots association, after a minimum of twenty-five years of
19 service in the Hudson River pilots association.
20 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
21 have become a law.
