S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                 5739--A

                       2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            February 28, 2011
                               ___________

Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on  Governmental  Employees -- recommitted to the Committee on Govern-
  mental Employees in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- commit-
  tee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and  recom-
  mitted to said committee

AN  ACT  to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
  providing three-quarters of pension for police officers and firefight-
  ers who contract methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding
a new section 363-ddd to read as follows:
  S  363-DDD.  IMPAIRMENTS OF HEALTH; PRESUMPTION; STAPH/MRSA.  NOTWITH-
STANDING ANY PROVISION OF THIS CHAPTER OR OF  ANY  GENERAL,  SPECIAL  OR
LOCAL  LAW  TO  THE  CONTRARY,  ANY POLICE OFFICER OR FIREFIGHTER WHO IS
COVERED BY THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION THREE HUNDRED SIXTY-THREE  OF  THIS
TITLE  AND  WHO  CONTRACTS  METHICILLIN  RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS
(MRSA) OR STAPH/MRSA WILL BE PRESUMED TO HAVE CONTRACTED SUCH DISEASE IN
THE PERFORMANCE OR DISCHARGE OF HIS OR HER DUTIES  AS  THE  NATURAL  AND
PROXIMATE  RESULT OF AN ACCIDENT AND TO BE DISABLED FROM THE PERFORMANCE
OF HIS OR  HER  DUTIES  UNLESS  THE  CONTRARY  BE  PROVEN  BY  COMPETENT
EVIDENCE.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
  FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
  This  bill will affect certain members of the New York State and Local
Police and Fire Retirement System by presuming that contracting MRSA  or
Staph/MRSA  will  qualify  them for an accidental disability retirement,
unless the contrary be proven by competent evidence.
  If this bill is enacted, we anticipate that few additional  accidental
disability  retirements  will  be granted, and thus, the resulting costs
will be negligible.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD09554-02-2
              

A. 5739--A                          2

  Summary of relevant resources:
  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.
  Valuations  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 December 16, 2011,  and  intended  for  use  only
during  the  2012  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No. 2012-52,
prepared by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Police and Fire
Retirement System.