S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  7874--A
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               May 28, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on  Governmental  Employees  --  committee  discharged,  bill amended,
   ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
 AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the  city  of  New  York,  in
   relation  to  membership  in  the  New  York city teachers' retirement
   system
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Paragraph  (a)  of subdivision 7 of section 13-501 of the
 administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by  chapter  650
 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows:
   (a)  "Teacher" shall mean the superintendent of schools, the associate
 superintendents, the assistant superintendents,  the  director  and  the
 assistant  director  of  the  divisions  of  reference and research, the
 director and the assistant directors of the bureau of compulsory  educa-
 tion, school census and child welfare, attendance teachers and specially
 certificated  attendance officers who are first employed by the New York
 city board of education on or after September  first,  nineteen  hundred
 sixty-eight,  attendance  teachers and specially certificated attendance
 officers who were members of  the  New  York  city  board  of  education
 retirement  system and who, on or before December thirty-first, nineteen
 hundred sixty-nine, gave notice to said board  of  education  retirement
 system  of  their  intention  to transfer to the New York city teachers'
 retirement system, the director of  attendance,  assistant  director  of
 attendance,  chief  attendance  officer, division supervising attendance
 officers and district supervising attendance officers of the  bureau  of
 compulsory  education,  school  census and child welfare, supervisors of
 school social workers who are first employed by the New York city  board
 of education on or after September first, nineteen hundred sixty-nine or
 who  were  members  of  the  New York city board of education retirement
 system and who on or  before  December  thirty-first,  nineteen  hundred
 seventy, gave notice to the said board of education retirement system of
 their  intention  to  transfer to the New York city teachers' retirement
 system, the members of the board of examiners,  the  directors  and  the
              

 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06635-03-9

 A. 7874--A                          2
 
 assistant  directors  of  special branches, the supervisor and assistant
 supervisors of lectures, all principals, vice-principals, assistants-to-
 principals, heads of departments, and all regular and  special  teachers
 of the public day schools of the city, and all employees of the board of
 education  appointed  to  regular positions in the service of the public
 schools at annual salaries and whose appointments were made or shall  be
 made  from eligible lists prepared as the result of examinations held by
 the board of examiners or from hiring lists established by the  chancel-
 lor  of  the  board  of education, as the case may be, and all employees
 employed by the board of education in the titles of teacher aide, educa-
 tional assistant, educational associate, auxiliary trainer[,] OR  bilin-
 gual  professional  assistant[,  family worker, family assistant, family
 associate, parent program assistant, who file an application for member-
 ship in the retirement association on a form supplied by the  retirement
 board].
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY  OF  BILL: This proposed legislation would amend paragraph (a)
 of subdivision 7 of Section 13-501 of the  Administrative  Code  of  the
 City  of  New York to eliminate the requirement that certain titles file
 an application to become members of the New York City Teachers'  Retire-
 ment System (TRS).
   Under  current  law,  individuals in the title of teacher aide, educa-
 tional assistant, educational associate,  auxiliary  trainer,  bilingual
 professional  assistant, family worker, family assistant, family associ-
 ate, and parent program assistant (collectively, paraprofessionals) have
 the option of joining TRS by filing an application for membership.
   The proposed legislation would make TRS membership for paraprofession-
 als mandatory.
   Effective Date: Upon enactment.
   FINANCIAL IMPACT - ANNUAL EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS: If enacted into law,
 the ultimate employer cost for this proposed legislation would be  based
 on  the  number, ages, years of service, and salary of those paraprofes-
 sionals that would otherwise not have elected to become members of TRS.
   Based on these assumptions and other actuarial assumptions, data,  and
 methods  described  herein,  the  enactment of this proposed legislation
 would increase annual employer contributions as follows:
 
                              Paraprofessional  Estimated First Year
                              Count             Annual Employer
                                                Contribution ($ Millions)
 Estimate of Paraprofessionals
 who would be mandated into
 TRS and otherwise would not
 have joined                  3,100             $9.0
 
 Estimate of Paraprofessionals
 whose membership is being
 accelerated into TRS         2,500             6.7
 Total                        5,600             $15.7
   These employer contribution amounts are representative of  the  annual
 employer  contribution  amounts for each future year if paraprofessional
 member participation numbers  and  demographic  characteristics  do  not
 significantly change.
   OTHER COSTS: Not measured in this Fiscal Note are the following:

 A. 7874--A                          3
 
   *  The  initial,  additional administrative costs of TRS and other New
 York City agencies to implement the proposed legislation.
   *  The  impact  of  this  proposed legislation on Other Postemployment
 Benefit (OPEB) costs.
   * The cost of potential Tax-Deferred Annuity (TDA) plan  participation
 and benefits.
   CONTRIBUTION  TIMING:  For  the  purposes  of  this Fiscal Note, it is
 assumed that the changes in the annual employer contributions  would  be
 reflected for the first time in the June 30, 2019 actuarial valuation of
 TRS.  In  accordance  with  the  One-Year Lag Methodology (OYLM) used to
 determine employer contributions, the increase in employer contributions
 would first be reflected in Fiscal Year 2021.
   CENSUS DATA: In order to  estimate  the  costs  associated  with  this
 group,  census data of approximately 5,600 paraprofessionals who are not
 currently members of TRS was provided by the United Federation of Teach-
 ers and was reviewed. Based on this data and the population of  parapro-
 fessionals  who  have already joined TRS, it was estimated that approxi-
 mately 3,100 paraprofessionals, who would not have otherwise joined TRS,
 would be mandated into TRS membership if this  proposed  legislation  is
 enacted.    The  remaining  2,500 paraprofessionals were assumed to have
 become members of TRS at some point in their  careers  even  absent  the
 proposed legislation.
   These  paraprofessionals  had  an  average  age  of approximately 36.8
 years, and an average salary of approximately $32,300  as  of  June  30,
 2018.
   ACTUARIAL  ASSUMPTIONS  AND  METHODS: The additional employer contrib-
 utions presented herein have been calculated based on the same actuarial
 assumptions and methods in effect for the June 30, 2018 (Lag)  actuarial
 valuation  used  to  determine the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2020 employer
 contributions of TRS with an additional graded participation  rate  that
 decreases as an individual's years of service increases.
   RISK  AND  UNCERTAINTY: The costs presented in this Fiscal Note depend
 highly on the actuarial assumptions and methods used and are subject  to
 change  based  on  the realization of potential investment, demographic,
 contribution, and other risks. If actual experience deviates from  actu-
 arial  assumptions,  the  actual costs could differ from those presented
 herein. Costs are also dependent on  the  actuarial  methods  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 2019-17 dated May 14,
 2019 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York  City  Teachers'
 Retirement  System.  This  estimate  is intended for use only during the
 2019 Legislative Session.