Relates to benefits payable to, or on behalf of, certain employees of the department of corrections and community supervision injured or killed in the performance of duty; adds a heart presumption for peace officers of the department of corrections and community supervision who are members of the NYS&LERS.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5091--B
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 11, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Governmental Employees -- committee discharged, bill amended,
ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee --
again reported from said committee with amendments, ordered reprinted
as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
benefits payable to, or on behalf of, certain employees of the depart-
ment of corrections and community supervision injured or killed in the
performance of duty; and providing for the repeal of such provisions
upon expiration thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding
2 a new section 63-g to read as follows:
3 § 63-g. Disability retirement for parole officers, parole revocation
4 specialists and warrant officers in the department of corrections and
5 community supervision; certain disabilities. a. Notwithstanding any
6 provision of this chapter or of any general or special law to the
7 contrary, any condition of impairment of health caused by diseases of
8 the heart, resulting in disability or death to a parole officer, parole
9 revocation specialist or warrant officer in the department of
10 corrections and community supervision shall be presumptive evidence that
11 it was incurred in the performance and discharge of duty and the natural
12 and proximate result of an accident, unless the contrary be proved by
13 competent evidence.
14 b. As used in this section, the term "parole officer", "parole revoca-
15 tion specialist" or "warrant officer" in the department of corrections
16 and community supervision shall mean an employee who is designated as a
17 peace officer pursuant to subdivision twenty-three or twenty-three-a of
18 section 2.10 of the criminal procedure law, who, prior to entry into
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01377-08-2
A. 5091--B 2
1 service successfully passed a physical examination which failed to
2 disclose evidence of any disease or other impairment of the heart.
3 § 2. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding a new
4 section 605-d to read as follows:
5 § 605-d. Disability retirement for parole officers, parole revocation
6 specialists and warrant officers in the department of corrections and
7 community supervision; accidental disability retirement for certain
8 disabilities. a. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter or of any
9 general or special law to the contrary, if an impairment of health
10 caused by diseases of the heart, results in disability or death to a
11 parole officer, parole revocation specialist or warrant officer in the
12 department of corrections and community supervision such impairment
13 shall be presumptive evidence that it was incurred in the performance
14 and discharge of duty and the natural and proximate result of an acci-
15 dent, unless the contrary be proved by competent evidence, and such
16 peace officer shall be paid a performance of duty disability retirement
17 allowance equal to that which is provided in section sixty-three of this
18 chapter subject to the provisions of section sixty-four of this chapter.
19 Said parole officer, parole revocation specialist or warrant officer in
20 the department of corrections and community supervision may make appli-
21 cation for accidental disability retirement subject to the filing
22 requirements provided by section sixty-three of this chapter.
23 b. As used in this section, the term "parole officer", "parole revoca-
24 tion specialist" or "warrant officer" in the department of corrections
25 and community supervision shall mean an employee who is designated as a
26 peace officer pursuant to subdivision twenty-three or twenty-three-a of
27 section 2.10 of the criminal procedure law, who, prior to entry into
28 service successfully passed a physical examination which failed to
29 disclose evidence of any disease or other impairment of the heart.
30 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
31 have become a law and shall expire and be deemed repealed July 1, 2014.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would amend the Retirement and Social Security Law in
relation to heart disease related disabilities and deaths. It would add
a "heart presumption" for parole officers, parole revocation specialists
and warrant officers in the Department of Corrections and Community
Supervision who are designated as a peace officer and are members of the
New York State and Local Employees' Retirement System. The presumption
would help individuals, or those filing on their behalf, who sustained a
job related accident establish that their heart disability or death is
the natural and proximate result of such accident. The accidental disa-
bility benefit would be 75% of final average salary less workers'
compensation.
If this bill is enacted, it could increase benefits from 1/3 of final
average salary to 3/4 of final average salary, less workers' compen-
sation. We anticipate that very few members would receive increased
benefits under this proposal, since the member, or the person filing on
behalf of the member, would have to prove that such heart related disa-
bility or death was the result of an accident. The estimated increase in
the annual contributions for the State of New York would be approximate-
ly $101,000.
These estimated costs are based on 1,171 members having a total annual
salary for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011 of approximately $92
million.
Summary of relevant resources:
A. 5091--B 3
Data: March 31, 2011 Actuarial Year End File with distributions of
membership and other statistics displayed in the 2011 Report of the
Actuary and 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.
Assumptions and Methods: 2010 and 2011 Annual Report to the Comp-
troller on Actuarial Assumptions, Codes Rules and Regulations of the
State of New York: Audit and Control.
Market Assets and GASB Disclosures: March 31, 2011 New York State and
Local Retirement System Financial Statements and Supplementary Informa-
tion.
Valuation of Benefit Liabilities and Actuarial Assets: summarized in
the 2011 Actuarial Valuations report.
I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and meet the Quali-
fication Standards to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
This estimate, dated November 14, 2011, and intended for use only
during the 2012 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2012-17,
prepared by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Employees'
Retirement System.
