S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   11125
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             November 6, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Abbate) --
   read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees
 
 AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law and the  adminis-
   trative  code of the city of New York, in relation to allowing for the
   electronic submission of a notice that a member of a retirement system
   participated in World Trade Center rescue, recovery or  cleanup  oper-
   ations for a qualifying period
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subparagraph (a) of  paragraph  36  of  section  2  of  the
 retirement  and  social  security  law, as amended by chapter 266 of the
 laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   (a) "Qualifying World Trade Center condition" shall mean a  qualifying
 condition  or  impairment  of health resulting in disability to a member
 who participated in World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup oper-
 ations for a qualifying  period,  as  those  terms  are  defined  below,
 provided  the  following  conditions  have been met: (i) such member, or
 eligible beneficiary in the case of the member's death, must have EITHER
 filed a written and sworn statement with the member's retirement  system
 on  a form provided by such system, OR ELECTRONICALLY SUBMITTED A STATE-
 MENT THROUGH A SECURE ONLINE PORTAL MAINTAINED BY THE  MEMBER'S  RETIRE-
 MENT  SYSTEM  THAT  HAS DULY VALIDATED THE MEMBER'S IDENTITY, indicating
 the underlying dates and locations of employment not later than  Septem-
 ber  eleventh,  two thousand twenty-two, and (ii) such member has either
 successfully  passed  a  physical  examination  for  entry  into  public
 service,  or  authorized release of all relevant medical records, if the
 member did not undergo a physical  examination  for  entry  into  public
 service;  and  (iii) there is no evidence of the qualifying condition or
 impairment of health that formed the basis for the  disability  in  such
 physical  examination  for  entry into public service or in the relevant
 medical records, prior to September eleventh, two  thousand  one  except
 for  such  member,  or  eligible beneficiary in the case of the member's
 death, of a local retirement system of a city with a population  of  one
 million  or more that is covered by section 13-551 of the administrative
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD16631-01-0

 A. 11125                            2
 
 code of the city of New York, or by section twenty-five  hundred  seven-
 ty-five  of  the  education  law  and for such member who separated from
 service with vested rights, or eligible beneficiary of such  member  who
 separated  from  service  with vested rights in the case of the member's
 death, of a local retirement system of a city with a population  of  one
 million or more who are covered by sections 13-168, 13-252.1 or 13-353.1
 of  the  administrative  code  of  the city of New York or sections five
 hundred seven-c, six hundred five-b, six hundred five-c, or six  hundred
 seven-b  of  this  chapter.  The deadline for filing a written and sworn
 statement required by  subparagraph  (i)  of  this  paragraph  shall  be
 September eleventh, two thousand twenty-two for such member, or eligible
 beneficiary  in  the  case  of the member's death, of a local retirement
 system of a city with a population  of  one  million  or  more  that  is
 covered  by section 13-551 of the administrative code of the city of New
 York, or by section twenty-five hundred seventy-five  of  the  education
 law  and  for such member who separated from service with vested rights,
 or eligible beneficiary of such member who separated from  service  with
 vested  rights  in the case of the member's death, of a local retirement
 system of a city with a population  of  one  million  or  more  who  are
 covered  by  sections 13-168, 13-252.1 or 13-353.1 of the administrative
 code of the city of New York and  sections  five  hundred  seven-c,  six
 hundred five-b, six hundred five-c, or six hundred seven-b of this chap-
 ter.  Every  retirement  system  shall  keep a copy of every written and
 sworn statement that is presented for filing not  later  than  September
 eleventh, two thousand twenty-two, including those that are rejected for
 filing as untimely.
   §  2.  Subparagraph  (e) of paragraph 1 and clause (i) of subparagraph
 (b) of paragraph 2 of subdivision h of section 363-bb of the  retirement
 and  social security law, as amended by chapter 495 of the laws of 2007,
 are amended to read as follows:
   (e) In order to be eligible for consideration  for  such  presumption,
 such  member  must  file  EITHER  a written and sworn statement with the
 member's retirement system on a form provided by such system,  OR  ELEC-
 TRONICALLY  SUBMIT A STATEMENT THROUGH A SECURE ONLINE PORTAL MAINTAINED
 BY THE MEMBER'S RETIREMENT SYSTEM THAT HAS DULY VALIDATED  THE  MEMBER'S
 IDENTITY,  indicating the dates and locations of employment. Such state-
 ment must be filed not later than four  years  following  the  effective
 date of chapter one hundred four of the laws of two thousand five.
   (i)  the  member  files  EITHER a written and sworn statement with the
 member's retirement system on a form provided by such system,  OR  ELEC-
 TRONICALLY SUBMITS A STATEMENT THROUGH A SECURE ONLINE PORTAL MAINTAINED
 BY  THE  MEMBER'S RETIREMENT SYSTEM THAT HAS DULY VALIDATED THE MEMBER'S
 IDENTITY, indicating the dates and locations of employment  within  four
 years  following  the  effective date of chapter one hundred four of the
 laws of two thousand five; and
   § 3. Clause (i) of subparagraph (b) of paragraph 2 of subdivision h of
 section 605 of the retirement and social security  law,  as  amended  by
 chapter 489 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
   (i)  the  member  files  EITHER a written and sworn statement with the
 member's retirement system on a form provided by such system,  OR  ELEC-
 TRONICALLY SUBMITS A STATEMENT THROUGH A SECURE ONLINE PORTAL MAINTAINED
 BY  THE  MEMBER'S RETIREMENT SYSTEM THAT HAS DULY VALIDATED THE MEMBER'S
 IDENTITY, indicating the dates and locations of employment  within  four
 years  following  the  effective date of chapter one hundred four of the
 laws of two thousand five; and

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   § 4. Paragraph a of section 13-168 of the administrative code  of  the
 city  of  New  York,  as  amended by chapter 489 of the laws of 2008, is
 amended to read as follows:
   a.  Medical examination of a member in city-service for accident disa-
 bility and investigation of all statements and certifications by him  or
 her  or  on his OR HER behalf in connection therewith shall be made upon
 the application of the head  of  the  agency  in  which  the  member  is
 employed,  or  upon the application of a member or of a person acting in
 his or her behalf, EITHER IN WRITING OR ELECTRONICALLY SUBMITTED THROUGH
 A SECURE ONLINE PORTAL MAINTAINED BY THE MEMBER'S RETIREMENT SYSTEM THAT
 HAS DULY VALIDATED THE MEMBER'S IDENTITY, stating that  such  member  is
 physically  or  mentally  incapacitated for the performance of city-ser-
 vice, as a natural and proximate result of such city-service, and certi-
 fying the time, place and conditions of such city-service  performed  by
 such  member  resulting in such alleged disability and that such alleged
 disability was not the result of wilful negligence on the part  of  such
 member  and that such member should, therefore, be retired.  Such appli-
 cation shall be filed within two years from the happening of such  acci-
 dent,  except, however, that such requirement as to time of filing shall
 not apply to any such application which (1) is filed by or with  respect
 to  a member who is a member of the uniformed force of the department of
 sanitation (as such force is defined in subdivision a of section  13-154
 of  this  chapter)  and  is  based on an accident occurring wholly on or
 after July first, nineteen hundred sixty-three, or (2)  if  filed  by  a
 vested  member  incapacitated  as  a  result of a qualifying World trade
 Center condition as defined in section two of the retirement and  social
 security  law.  If such medical examination and investigation shows that
 any member, by whom or with respect to  whom  an  application  is  filed
 under  this  section,  is  physically  or mentally incapacitated for the
 performance of city-service as a natural  and  proximate  result  of  an
 accidental injury received in such city-service while a member, and that
 such  disability  was not the result of wilful negligence on the part of
 such member and that such member should be retired,  the  medical  board
 shall  so certify to the board stating the time, place and conditions of
 such city-service performed by such member resulting in such disability.
 The board shall review such certification with  respect  to  any  issues
 other than the existence or non-existence of physical or mental incapac-
 itation and shall determine the member's eligibility with respect to any
 such  issues.  Upon  such  certification  by  the  medical  board of the
 member's physical or mental incapacitation and a  determination  by  the
 board  finding  the  member  otherwise  eligible,  such  member shall be
 retired for accident disability effective the date  the  application  is
 filed  or the date immediately following the last date the member was on
 the payroll, whichever is later.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.-- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY OF BILL: This proposed legislation, as it relates to  the  New
 York  City  Retirement  Systems  and Pension Funds (NYCRS), would, among
 other things, amend provisions of the of the Retirement and Social Secu-
 rity Law (RSSL) and the Administrative Code of the City of New  York  to
 permit  certain  NYCRS members to file a World Trade Center (WTC) Notice
 of Participation electronically. The electronic filing would provide  an
 alternative mechanism to the current written and sworn Notice of Partic-
 ipation filing.
   EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon enactment.

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   BACKGROUND:  Currently, in order to eligible for WTC benefits, members
 must file a written and sworn WTC Notice of Participation statement with
 their respective retirement system on a form  provided  by  such  system
 within the permitted time deadline.
   The proposed legislation would allow a member to electronically submit
 a  WTC Notice of Participation through a secure online portal maintained
 by the member's retirement system that has duly validated  the  member's
 identity.
   IMPACT  ON  BENEFITS:  If  enacted,  this proposed legislation, to the
 extent an electronic filing would not enable a Notice  of  Participation
 to be submitted timely when a written sworn statement would be untimely,
 would have no impact on benefits paid to members.
   FINANCIAL   IMPACT  -  ANNUAL  EMPLOYER  CONTRIBUTIONS:  The  Employer
 Contribution for a fiscal year includes  the  amount  of  administrative
 expenses paid during the second prior fiscal year adjusted with interest
 to  the  current  date.  If  enacted,  this  proposed  legislation would
 increase the amount of administrative expenses initially due to the cost
 of setting up electronic submission capabilities but  could  potentially
 have  long  term  savings  and  therefore, the impact on annual Employer
 Contribution  will  depend  on  the  actual  change  in   administrative
 expenses.  The actual increase or decrease in the Employer Contribution,
 is expected to be de minimis.
   ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The interest rate for adjusting the
 administrative  expenses from the date paid out of NYCRS to the date the
 Employer Contribution is received is 7%.
   RISK AND UNCERTAINTY: The costs presented in this Fiscal  Note  depend
 highly  on the realization of the actuarial assumptions used, as well as
 certain demographic characteristics of NYCRS and other exogenous factors
 such as investment, contribution, and other risks. If actual  experience
 deviates  from actuarial assumptions, the actual costs could differ from
 those presented herein. Costs are also dependent on the actuarial  meth-
 ods  used,  and  therefore  different  actuarial  methods  could produce
 different results. Quantifying these risks is beyond the scope  of  this
 Fiscal Note.
   STATEMENT  OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Sherry S. Chan, am the Chief Actu-
 ary for, and independent of, the New York City  Retirement  Systems  and
 Pension  Funds.  I  am a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, an Enrolled
 Actuary under the Employee Retirement Income and Security Act of 1974, a
 Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and a Fellow of the Confer-
 ence of Consulting Actuaries. I meet the Qualification Standards of  the
 American  Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion contained
 herein.  To the best of my knowledge, the results contained herein  have
 been prepared in accordance with generally accepted actuarial principles
 and  procedures  and  with the Actuarial Standards of Practice issued by
 the Actuarial Standards Board.
   FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This Fiscal Note  2020-49  dated  June  3,
 2020  was  prepared  by  the  Chief  Actuary  for the five New York City
 Retirement Systems and Pension Funds. This estimate is intended for  use
 only during the 2020 Legislative Session.