S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  8402--A
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               June 13, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on  Governmental  Employees -- recommitted to the Committee on Govern-
   mental Operations in accordance  with  Assembly  Rule  3,  sec.  2  --
   committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
   recommitted to said committee

 AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in  relation  to
   transfer of retirement membership for certain employees of SUNY within
   the professional, scientific and technical bargaining unit
 
   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 618 to read as follows:
   § 618. TRANSFER OF MEMBERSHIP INTO NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL EMPLOYEES'
 RETIREMENT SYSTEM. A. DEFINITIONS. WHENEVER USED IN THIS SECTION:
   1. THE TERM "ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE" SHALL MEAN A  PERSON  WHO  AS  OF  THE
 EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION IS AN EMPLOYEE OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF
 NEW YORK IN A POSITION WITHIN THE PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL
 BARGAINING  UNIT  AND WHO IS, AS OF SAID EFFECTIVE DATE, A MEMBER OF THE
 OPTIONAL RETIREMENT PROGRAM AND WHO IS  A  REGISTERED  NURSE  WHO  FIRST
 BECAME  AN  EMPLOYEE  OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT STONY BROOK
 HOSPITAL ON A DATE BETWEEN JANUARY FIRST,  NINETEEN  HUNDRED  NINETY-SIX
 AND DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST, NINETEEN HUNDRED NINETY-NINE AND WHO IS STILL
 EMPLOYED BY THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AS OF THE DATE SAID EMPLOY-
 EE FILES AN APPLICATION PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION B OF THIS SECTION;
   2.  THE  TERM  "OPTIONAL  RETIREMENT  PROGRAM" SHALL MEAN THE OPTIONAL
 RETIREMENT PROGRAM ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO ARTICLE EIGHT-B OF THE EDUCA-
 TION LAW.
   B. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW,  AN  ELIGIBLE  EMPLOYEE
 SHALL  BE  ALLOWED  TO  BECOME  A MEMBER OF THE NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL
 EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM BY FILING AN APPLICATION WITH SAID  RETIRE-
 MENT SYSTEM NO LATER THAN DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST, TWO THOUSAND NINETEEN.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD11575-08-8

 A. 8402--A                          2
 
   C. AN ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE WHO FILES AN APPLICATION TO BECOME A MEMBER OF
 THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  AND  LOCAL  EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM SHALL BE
 DEEMED TO BE A MEMBER OF THAT RETIREMENT SYSTEM WITH A DATE  OF  MEMBER-
 SHIP  AS  OF  THE  DATE SAID ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE WAS FIRST EMPLOYED BY THE
 STATE  UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK. THE ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE'S MEMBERSHIP IN THE
 OPTIONAL RETIREMENT PROGRAM SHALL TERMINATE AS OF THE DATE SAID APPLICA-
 TION IS FILED.
   D. AN ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE WHO BECOMES A MEMBER OF THE NEW YORK STATE AND
 LOCAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM PURSUANT TO  SUBDIVISION  B  OF  THIS
 SECTION MAY ELECT TO PURCHASE CREDIT FOR PREVIOUS SERVICE FOR ANY PERIOD
 DURING  WHICH  SAID  EMPLOYEE  WAS  A  MEMBER OF THE OPTIONAL RETIREMENT
 PROGRAM BY FILING AN APPLICATION WITH  THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  AND  LOCAL
 EMPLOYEES'  RETIREMENT  SYSTEM  NO LATER THAN DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST, TWO
 THOUSAND NINETEEN AND BY PAYING TO SAID RETIREMENT SYSTEM AN  AMOUNT  AS
 DETERMINED  BY  THE  COMPTROLLER EQUAL TO THE FULL COST OF SUCH PREVIOUS
 SERVICE CREDIT PURCHASED WHICH SHALL INCLUDE AN AMOUNT EQUIVALENT TO THE
 ADDITIONAL COSTS TO THE EMPLOYER OF PROVIDING RETIREMENT SERVICE  CREDIT
 TO  SUCH  EMPLOYEE  WHILE  SUCH  EMPLOYEE  WAS  A MEMBER OF THE OPTIONAL
 RETIREMENT PROGRAM AS DETERMINED  BY  THE  ACTUARY  FOR  THE  RETIREMENT
 SYSTEM. SAID PAYMENT MAY BE MADE BY A TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM THE EMPLOY-
 EE'S OPTIONAL RETIREMENT PROGRAM ACCOUNT TO THE NEW YORK STATE AND LOCAL
 EMPLOYEES'  RETIREMENT  SYSTEM.  SAID  PAYMENT  MAY  ALSO BE MADE IN ONE
 PAYMENT BY THE EMPLOYEE OR BY PAYROLL DEDUCTION OVER  A  PERIOD  NOT  TO
 EXCEED FIVE YEARS.
   §  2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, none
 of the provisions of this act shall be subject  to  section  25  of  the
 retirement and social security law.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill will allow any employee of the State University of New York
 (SUNY) who is a registered nurse in a position within the  Professional,
 Scientific and Technical bargaining unit, who first became employed with
 SUNY  at  Stony  Brook Hospital between January 1, 1996 and December 31,
 1999, and who enrolled in the Optional Retirement Program, to  terminate
 their memberships in the Optional Retirement Program and to be deemed to
 be  members of the New York State and Local Employees' Retirement System
 (NYSLERS) with a date of membership as of the date of  first  employment
 by  SUNY. Affected members will have to pay the entire past service cost
 as determined by the Comptroller in  order  to  get  retirement  service
 credit for the service rendered before their dates of membership.
   If  this  bill is enacted, the number of employees who may be affected
 by this legislation cannot be readily determined. For every employee who
 does so elect, there will be an annual cost to the State of New York  of
 approximately 15.8% of salary for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2019.
   In addition to the annual cost above, for every member who elects this
 benefit,  there will be a past service cost that will depend on the age,
 service and salary of the member. The members will  be  able  to  offset
 this  cost  by  the  transfer  of  funds  from their Optional Retirement
 Program balances. For an individual member, if  the  amount  transferred
 from the Optional Retirement Program is less than the past service cost,
 the  member  will be have to make up the difference either as a one-time
 payment or by making a series of payments over  a  period  of  five  (5)
 years.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   The  membership  data  used  in  measuring  the impact of the proposed
 change was the same as that used in the March 31, 2017  actuarial  valu-

 A. 8402--A                          3
 
 ation.    Distributions  and  other  statistics can be found in the 2017
 Report of the  Actuary  and  the  2017  Comprehensive  Annual  Financial
 Report.
   The  actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015,
 2016 and 2017 Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions,
 and the Codes Rules and Regulations of the State of New York: Audit  and
 Control.
   The Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March 31, 2017
 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 estimate, dated June 1, 2018, and intended for  use  only  during
 the  2018  Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2018-119, prepared by
 the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.