S07716 Summary:
BILL NO | S07716 |
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SAME AS | SAME AS A11308-B |
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SPONSOR | RULES |
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COSPNSR | |
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MLTSPNSR | |
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Makes certain domestic partners, parents, and widows and children of firefighters dying as a result of the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01 eligible for the special accidental death benefits provided pursuant to section 208-f of the general municipal law; defines domestic partner broadly; affirms authority of the courts to find and determine domestic partners pursuant to various criteria; makes the surviving domestic partners of certain deceased firefighters eligible for health insurance coverage; makes the surviving siblings of certain deceased firefighters eligible for certain pension benefits. |
S07716 Actions:
BILL NO | S07716 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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06/17/2002 | REFERRED TO RULES | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
06/20/2002 | ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.1556 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
06/20/2002 | PASSED SENATE | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
06/20/2002 | DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
06/20/2002 | referred to governmental employees | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
06/25/2002 | substituted for a11308b | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
06/25/2002 | ordered to third reading rules cal.1323 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
06/25/2002 | passed assembly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
06/25/2002 | returned to senate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
08/08/2002 | DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
08/20/2002 | SIGNED CHAP.468 |
S07716 Floor Votes:
Yes
Abbate
Yes
Colton
Yes
Glick
Yes
Lentol
Yes
O'Connell
Yes
Stephens
Yes
Acampora
Yes
Conte
Yes
Gordon
Yes
Levy
Yes
Ortiz
Yes
Straniere
Yes
Alfano
Yes
Cook
Yes
Gottfried
Yes
Little
Yes
Ortloff
Yes
Stringer
Yes
Arroyo
Yes
Crouch
Yes
Grannis
Yes
Lopez
Yes
Parment
Yes
Sullivan EC
Yes
Aubry
Yes
Cymbrowitz
Yes
Green
Yes
Luster
Yes
Paulin
Yes
Sullivan F
Yes
Bacalles
Yes
Davis
Yes
Greene
Yes
Magee
Yes
Perry
Yes
Sweeney
Yes
Barra
Yes
DelMonte
Yes
Gromack
Yes
Magnarelli
Yes
Pheffer
Yes
Tedisco
Yes
Barraga
Yes
Destito
Yes
Gunther
Yes
Manning
Yes
Powell
Yes
Thiele
Yes
Boyland
Yes
Diaz
Yes
Hayes
Yes
Markey
Yes
Prentiss
Yes
Titus
Yes
Boyle
Yes
DiNapoli
Yes
Heastie
Yes
Matusow
Yes
Pretlow
Yes
Tocci
Yes
Brennan
Yes
Dinga
Yes
Herbst
ER
Mayersohn
ER
Ravitz
Yes
Tokasz
Yes
Brodsky
Yes
Dinowitz
Yes
Higgins
Yes
McDonald
Yes
Rivera J
Yes
Tonko
Yes
Brown
Yes
Eddington
Yes
Hikind
Yes
McDonough
Yes
Rivera PM
Yes
Towns
Yes
Burling
Yes
Englebright
Yes
Hooper
Yes
McEneny
Yes
Robach
Yes
Townsend
Yes
Butler
Yes
Errigo
Yes
Hoyt
Yes
McLaughlin
Yes
Robinson
Yes
Warner
Yes
Cahill
Yes
Espaillat
Yes
Jacobs
Yes
Miller
Yes
Sanders
Yes
Weinstein
Yes
Calhoun
Yes
Eve
Yes
John
Yes
Millman
Yes
Sanford
Yes
Weisenberg
Yes
Canestrari
Yes
Farrell
Yes
Kaufman
Yes
Mills
Yes
Scarborough
Yes
Weprin
Yes
Carrozza
Yes
Faso
Yes
Kirwan
Yes
Mirones
Yes
Schimminger
Yes
Wertz
Yes
Casale
Yes
Ferrara
Yes
Klein
Yes
Morelle
Yes
Scozzafava
Yes
Winner
Yes
Christensen
Yes
Finch
Yes
Kolb
Yes
Nesbitt
Yes
Seddio
Yes
Wirth
Yes
Clark
Yes
Flanagan
Yes
Koon
Yes
Nolan
Yes
Seminerio
Yes
Wright
Yes
Cohen A
Yes
Galef
Yes
Labriola
Yes
Norman
Yes
Sidikman
Yes
Young
Yes
Cohen M
Yes
Gantt
Yes
Lafayette
Yes
Nortz
Yes
Smith
Yes
Mr. Speaker
Yes
Colman
Yes
Gianaris
Yes
Lavelle
Yes
Oaks
Yes
Spano
‡ Indicates voting via videoconference
S07716 Memo:
Memo not availableGo to top
S07716 Text:
Go to top STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7716 IN SENATE June 17, 2002 ___________ Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to make certain domestic partners, parents, and widows and chil- dren of certain firefighters dying at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 eligible for special accidental death benefits pursuant to section 208-f of the general municipal law (PART A); and to make certain domestic partners of certain firefighters dying at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 eligible for health benefits and to make the surviving siblings of certain firefighters so dying eligible for certain pension benefits (PART B) The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act enacts into law major components of legislation 2 which are necessary to redress the catastrophic effects of terrorist 3 attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 on the survivors 4 of certain New York City firefighters. Each component is wholly 5 contained within a part identified as parts A and B. The effective date 6 for each particular provision contained within such part is set forth in 7 the last section of such part. Any provision in any section contained 8 within a part, including the effective date of the part, which makes 9 reference to a section "of this act", when used in connection with that 10 particular component, shall be deemed to mean and refer to the corre- 11 sponding section of the part in which it is found. Section three of this 12 act sets forth the general effective date of this act. 13 PART A 14 Section 1. a. The legislature finds and determines that Lawrence 15 Virgilio, James Pappageorge, Jay Ogren, Sergio Villanueva, John Chipura, 16 Kevin Donnelly, Keith Glascoe, Martin McWiliams, Dennis Mojica, Thomas 17 A. Casoria, Paul Gill, Kevin Prior, Dana Hannon, Scott Kopytko, Jeffrey 18 Stark, and Mike Ragusa were employed as firefighters by the fire depart- 19 ment of the city of New York and were killed in the course of such 20 employment at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Notwith- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD16006-09-2S. 7716 2 1 standing any provision of any general, special, or local law to the 2 contrary, the provisions of section 208-f of the general municipal law 3 shall be deemed to apply to the registered and unregistered domestic 4 partners of Lawrence Virgilio, James Pappageorge, Jay Ogren, Sergio 5 Villanueva, John Chipura, Kevin Donnelly, Keith Glascoe, Martin McWil- 6 iams, Dennis Mojica, Thomas A. Casoria, Paul Gill, Kevin Prior, Dana 7 Hannon, Scott Kopytko, Jeffrey Stark, and Mike Ragusa, and such domestic 8 partners shall be eligible for the special accidental death benefit 9 provided by such section upon the same terms and conditions as other 10 persons eligible to receive benefits pursuant to such section. The bene- 11 fits provided by this section shall be payable from the general fund in 12 monthly installments. 13 b. For the purposes of this section, "domestic partner" shall mean a 14 person at least eighteen years of age who: 15 (i) was dependent upon the firefighter for support as shown by either 16 unilateral dependence or mutual interdependence, as evidenced by a nexus 17 of factors including, but not limited to, children in common, common 18 ownership of real or personal property, signs of intent to marry, common 19 householding, shared budgeting, and the length of the personal relation- 20 ship with the firefighter; or 21 (ii) was registered as the domestic partner of the firefighter with 22 any employer or with any registry of domestic partnerships maintained by 23 the state or by any county, city, town, or village prior to the fire- 24 fighter's death. 25 (iii) For the purposes of this section, the definition of domestic 26 partner made by this subdivision shall supplement or supersede any 27 inconsistent definition of such term by any other general, special, or 28 local law, ordinance, code, or charter so that no person qualifying as a 29 domestic partner, as defined in this subdivision, whether registered or 30 unregistered, shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed not to 31 be a domestic partner. 32 (iv) For the purposes of this section, the term "domestic partner" 33 shall include the term "surviving domestic partner". 34 (v) The term "domestic partner" shall not include any person who is 35 related by blood to the victim in a manner that would bar marriage to 36 the victim in New York state. 37 c. (i) The definition of the term "domestic partner" made by subdivi- 38 sion b of this section shall not be construed to be an exclusive defi- 39 nition. 40 (ii) The introduction or enactment of this section shall not be 41 construed to divest any court of any authority such court may otherwise 42 have to adjudicate a person a domestic partner on the basis of any 43 criteria other than those specified in this subdivision, whether such 44 person has or has not registered as a domestic partner, or to adjudicate 45 a person to be otherwise entitled to benefit pursuant to section 208-f 46 of the general municipal law, whether such person has or has not regis- 47 tered as a domestic partner. 48 § 2. The legislature finds and determines that certain persons were 49 employed as firefighters by the fire department of the city of New York 50 and were killed in the course of such employment at the World Trade 51 Center on September 11, 2001, leaving as their survivors their dependent 52 parents. Notwithstanding any provision of any general, special, or local 53 law to the contrary, the provisions of section 208-f of the general 54 municipal law shall be deemed to apply to the dependent parents of such 55 deceased firefighters, and such parents shall be eligible for the 56 special accidental death benefit provided by such section upon the sameS. 7716 3 1 terms and conditions as other persons eligible to receive benefits 2 pursuant to such section. The benefits provided by this section shall be 3 payable from the general fund in monthly installments. 4 § 3. The legislature further finds and determines that certain persons 5 were employed as firefighters by the fire department of the city of New 6 York and were killed in the course of such employment at the World Trade 7 Center on September 11, 2001, leaving as their survivors their dependent 8 parents. The legislature further finds and determines that James J. 9 Corrigan, William X. Wren, and Phillip T. Hayes were formerly employed 10 as firefighters by the fire department of the city of New York and were 11 killed while retired from such employment and in the course of fire- 12 fighting at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Notwithstand- 13 ing any provision of any general, special, or local law to the contrary, 14 the provisions of section 208-f of the general municipal law shall be 15 deemed to apply to the widows and children of James J. Corrigan, William 16 X. Wren, and Phillip T. Hayes, and such widows and children shall be 17 eligible for the special accidental death benefit provided by such 18 section upon the same terms and conditions as other persons eligible to 19 receive benefits pursuant to such section. Furthermore, James J. Corri- 20 gan, William X. Wren, and Phillip T. Hayes, shall be deemed, as of 21 September 11, 2001 to have been fully reinstated to full active employ- 22 ment status, at their highest achieved rank and status, on and as of 23 September 11, 2001 without any dimunition or return of their previously 24 received retirement benefits. The benefits provided by this section 25 shall be payable from the general fund in monthly installments. 26 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to 27 have been in full force and effect on and after September 10, 2001. FISCAL NOTE.--If this bill were to be enacted in the 2002 Legislative Session, the cost to the city in fiscal year 2002-03 would be approxi- mately $1 million. The source of this fiscal note is Jonathan Schwartz, consulting actu- ary. 28 PART B 29 Section 1. a. The legislature finds and determines that Lawrence 30 Virgilio, James Pappageorge, Jay Ogren, Sergio Villanueva, John Chipura, 31 Kevin Donnelly, Keith Glascoe, Martin McWiliams, Dennis Mojica, Thomas 32 A. Casoria, Paul Gill, Kevin Prior, Dana Hannon, Scott Kopytko, Jeffrey 33 Stark, and Mike Ragusa were employed as firefighters by the fire depart- 34 ment of the city of New York and were killed in the course of such 35 employment at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Notwith- 36 standing any provision of any general, special, or local law or any 37 code, ordinance, or charter to the contrary, the provisions of section 38 12-126 of the administrative code of the city of New York and any other 39 applicable provision of law shall be deemed to apply to the registered 40 and unregistered domestic partners of Lawrence Virgilio, James Pappag- 41 eorge, Jay Ogren, Sergio Villanueva, John Chipura, Kevin Donnelly, Keith 42 Glascoe, Martin McWiliams, Dennis Mojica, Thomas A. Casoria, Paul Gill, 43 Kevin Prior, Dana Hannon, Scott Kopytko, Jeffrey Stark, and Mike Ragusa, 44 and such domestic partners shall be eligible for the health insurance 45 coverage provided pursuant to such section 12-126 and any other applica- 46 ble provision of law upon the same terms and conditions as apply to 47 surviving spouses pursuant to such section or other applicable provision 48 of law.S. 7716 4 1 b. For the purposes of this section, "domestic partner" shall mean a 2 person at least eighteen years of age who: 3 (i) was dependent upon the firefighter for support as shown by either 4 unilateral dependence or mutual interdependence, as evidenced by a nexus 5 of factors including, but not limited to, children in common, common 6 ownership of real or personal property, signs of intent to marry, common 7 householding, shared budgeting, and the length of the personal relation- 8 ship with the firefighter; or 9 (ii) was registered as the domestic partner of the firefighter with 10 any employer or with any registry of domestic partnerships maintained by 11 the state or by any county, city, town, or village prior to the fire- 12 fighter's death. 13 (iii) For the purposes of this section, the definition of domestic 14 partner made by this subdivision shall supplement or supersede any 15 inconsistent definition of such term by any other general, special, or 16 local law, ordinance, code, or charter so that no person qualifying as a 17 domestic partner, as defined in this subdivision, whether registered or 18 unregistered, shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed not to 19 be a domestic partner. 20 (iv) For the purposes of this section, the term "domestic partner" 21 shall include the term "surviving domestic partner". 22 (v) The term "domestic partner" shall not include any person who is 23 related by blood to the victim in a manner that would bar marriage to 24 the victim in New York state. 25 c. (i) The definition of the term "domestic partner" made by subdivi- 26 sion b of this section shall not be construed to be an exclusive defi- 27 nition. 28 (ii) The introduction or enactment of this section shall not be 29 construed to divest any court of any authority such court may otherwise 30 have to adjudicate a person a domestic partner on the basis of any 31 criteria other than those specified in this subdivision, whether such 32 person has or has not registered as a domestic partner, or to adjudicate 33 a person to be otherwise entitled to benefit pursuant to section 12-126 34 of the administrative code of the city of New York or other applicable 35 provision of law, whether such person has or has not registered as a 36 domestic partner. 37 § 2. The legislature finds and determines that certain persons were 38 employed as firefighters by the fire department of the city of New York 39 and were killed in the course of such employment at the World Trade 40 Center on September 11, 2001, leaving as their nearest survivors their 41 siblings. Notwithstanding any provision of any general, special, or 42 local law or any code, ordinance, or charter to the contrary, the 43 surviving siblings of such persons shall share among themselves equally, 44 to be paid in a single lump sum, a pension benefit to be determined as 45 follows, in lieu of any other pension benefit otherwise payable on 46 behalf of such deceased firefighters. For each such firefighter, there 47 shall be calculated an estimate of the service retirement benefit that 48 would have been payable to such firefighter if such firefighter had 49 retired for service with twenty years of retirement service credit as a 50 firefighter, multiplied by an actuarial estimate of the remaining years 51 of life expectancy of such firefighter at the age that he or she would 52 have attained upon accrual of twenty years of retirement service credit 53 as a firefighter. Such product shall be discounted to its present value 54 using an actuarially appropriate rate. Such discounted present value 55 amount shall be divided equally among the surviving siblings of theirS. 7716 5 1 respective deceased firefighter sibling and paid to them by the applica- 2 ble pension fund. 3 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to 4 have been in full force and effect on and after September 10, 2001. FISCAL NOTE.--If this bill were to be enacted in the 2002 Legislative Session, the cost to the city in fiscal year 2002-03 would be appropri- ately $500,000. The source of this fiscal note is Jonathan Schwartz, consulting actu- ary. § 2. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi- sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg- ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such invalid provisions had not been included herein. § 3. This act shall take effect immediately provided, however, that the applicable effective date of parts A and B of this act shall be as specifically set forth in the last section of such parts.