New York State Assembly

 
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A10263 Summary:

A10263 Actions:

A10263 Committee Votes:

Committee:GOVERNMENTAL EMPLOYEES   Chair:Pheffer Amato      
DATE:05/29/2024AYE/NAY:14/0  Action: Favorable refer to committee Ways and Means        
Pheffer Amato
Aye
DeStefano
Aye
Aubry
Aye
Reilly
Aye
Colton
Aye
Giglio
Aye
Zebrowski
Aye
Tannousis
Aye
Santabarbara
Aye
Eichenstein
Aye
Fall
Aye
Jones
Aye
Burke
Aye
Sillitti
Aye

Committee:RULES   Chair:Pretlow      
DATE:06/03/2024AYE/NAY:28/0  Action: Favorable         
Heastie
Excused
Barclay
Aye
Weinstein
Aye
Hawley
Aye
Pretlow
Aye
Giglio
Aye
Cook
Aye
Blankenbush
Aye
Glick
Aye
Norris
Aye
Aubry
Aye
Ra
Aye
Dinowitz
Aye
Brabenec
Aye
Colton
Aye
Palmesano
Excused
Magnarelli
Aye
Reilly
Aye
Paulin
Aye
Peoples-Stokes
Aye
Benedetto
Aye
Lavine
Aye
Lupardo
Aye
Zebrowski
Aye
Thiele
Aye
Braunstein
Aye
Dickens
Excused
Davila
Aye
Hyndman
Aye
Rozic
Aye
Bronson
Aye

Committee:WAYS AND MEANS   Chair:Weinstein      
DATE:06/03/2024AYE/NAY:34/0  Action: Favorable refer to committee Rules        
Weinstein
Aye
Ra
Aye
Glick
Aye
Fitzpatrick
Aye
Pretlow
Aye
Hawley
Aye
Colton
Aye
Blankenbush
Aye
Cook
Aye
Norris
Aye
Aubry
Aye
Brabenec
Aye
Benedetto
Aye
Palmesano
Excused
Weprin
Aye
Walsh
Aye
Ramos
Aye
DeStefano
Aye
Braunstein
Aye
Manktelow
Aye
McDonald
Aye
Smullen
Aye
Rozic
Aye
Dinowitz
Aye
Magnarelli
Aye
Zebrowski
Aye
Bronson
Aye
Dilan
Aye
Seawright
Aye
Hyndman
Aye
Walker
Aye
Bichotte Hermel
Aye
Simon
Aye
Cruz
Aye
Fahy
Aye

A10263 Floor Votes:

A10263 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          10263
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                      May 15, 2024
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  COMMITTEE  ON  RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Fall) --
          read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees
 
        AN ACT to authorize the Honorable Joseph J. Maltese to  receive  compen-
          sation and service credit
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Under New York state law, justices over the age of 70  must
     2  request  certification  to continue to serve. In September 2020, Justice
     3  Joseph J. Maltese, who was assigned to the  Appellate  Division,  Second
     4  Department  of  the Supreme Court and other justices were denied certif-
     5  ication by the office of court administration based on potential  future
     6  budget  cuts  that  never materialized. As a result, Justice Maltese and
     7  other similarly situated justices were terminated effective  January  1,
     8  2021.    Pursuant  to  chapter 185 of the laws of 2023, judicial compen-
     9  sation was awarded to 15 justices for the period from January  1,  2021,
    10  to  June  14,  2021.  The  legislature allocated monies to the office of
    11  court administration to make those justices whole. Justice Maltese,  who
    12  believed  he  was  included  in that legislation was not compensated for
    13  that period of time as he did not resume service at the Appellate  Divi-
    14  sion,  Second  Department  until November 8, 2021, because he needed the
    15  Governor's redesignation, to return to the Appellate Division, which did
    16  not take effect until November 8, 2021.  Justice  Maltese  rejoined  the
    17  court  with  the  approval  of  the  office  of court administration and
    18  suspended his pension benefits effective on November 8, 2021.
    19    This body is in agreement with the  office  of  court  administration,
    20  that  in  the interest of fairness, and for the purpose of remedying the
    21  injury to Justice Maltese who was, through no fault of his  own,  denied
    22  his  compensation and the opportunity to continue to serve the people of
    23  the state of New York, that Justice Maltese should be made whole, to the
    24  extent possible, in terms of his salary and his pension.
    25    § 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule, or  regulation,
    26  the  office  of court administration is authorized to pay Justice Joseph
    27  J. Maltese the salary he would have earned from the period of January 1,
    28  2021 to November 7, 2021.   In the event  that  Justice  Maltese  worked
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15321-02-4
        A. 10263                            2
 
     1  full-  or  part-time during the period of January 1, 2021 to November 7,
     2  2021, outside earnings from such employment shall be deducted  from  the
     3  amount  payable  as judicial compensation, so that his total wages shall
     4  not  exceed the amount he would have earned as wages from New York state
     5  during that period.  The office of court administration is also  author-
     6  ized to pay to the New York state and local employees' retirement system
     7  the  amount  that  would  have been deducted and paid to such retirement
     8  system for the pension credit accrued by  Justice  Maltese  during  such
     9  period.  All  such  payments  shall  be  made out of moneys appropriated
    10  therefor. The New York state and local employees' retirement  system  is
    11  authorized  to  reinstate  Justice  Maltese to the retirement system for
    12  that period from January 1, 2021 to  November  7,  2021  and  continuing
    13  until  the  present  time nunc pro tunc, and to adjust his seniority and
    14  add any additional credits since returning to  the  court  prospectively
    15  from  November  8,  2021.  The  comptroller  is  authorized to waive the
    16  payment of interest by Justice Maltese who received his  pension  during
    17  the period from January 1, 2021 to November 7, 2021, and is now required
    18  to repay it.
    19    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
          FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
          This  bill  would allow Justice Joseph J. Maltese, a member of the New
        York State and Local Employees' Retirement  System  (NYSLERS),  who  was
        dismissed  from  employment  as  a  supreme court justice of the Unified
        Court System during the period beginning January 1, 2021 and  ending  on
        November 7, 2021, to obtain service credit for the duration of the peri-
        od  of  unemployment.    Additionally,  Joseph  J. Maltese shall be paid
        pensionable earnings for the period of January 1, 2021 through  November
        7,  2021,  the  date of reemployment. To be eligible for this additional
        service credit, Joseph J. Maltese, who  retired  and  collected  pension
        benefits  during  the  period of unemployment, will be required to repay
        those benefits. This bill would not be consistent with the NYSLERS poli-
        cy of granting service credit only when  a  salary  has  been  paid  for
        services performed.
          If  this  bill  is  enacted during the 2024 Legislative Session, there
        will be an immediate past service cost of  approximately  $51,900  which
        will  be borne by the New York State Office of Court Administration as a
        one-time payment. This estimate assumes that payment  will  be  made  on
        March 1, 2025.
          This bill will not increase the future annual contributions of the New
        York State Office of Court Administration.
          The  costs  quoted above are in addition to the employer contributions
        required for any  increase  in  pensionable  earnings  reported  to  the
        NYSLERS and are estimated to be $48,000, which will be collected as part
        of the customary billing process.
          Summary of relevant resources:
          Membership  data as of March 31, 2023 was used in measuring the impact
        of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2023 actuari-
        al valuation.  Distributions and other statistics can be  found  in  the
        2023  Report  of the Actuary and the 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial
        Report.
          The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in  the  2023
        Annual  Report  to  the  Comptroller  on  Actuarial Assumptions, and the
        Codes, Rules and Regulations  of  the  State  of  New  York:  Audit  and
        Control.
        A. 10263                            3
 
          The Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March 31, 2023
        New  York  State  and  Local  Retirement System Financial Statements and
        Supplementary Information.
          I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and meet the Quali-
        fication Standards to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
          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 May 8, 2024, and intended for use only during the
        2024  Legislative  Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2024-175, prepared by the
        Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.