S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2934
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 26, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. KAMINSKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
 
 AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in  relation  to
   the  retirement  of  members  who serve as police medics, police medic
   supervisors and members who perform police medic related  services  in
   the Nassau county police department
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The section heading and subdivisions a  and  d  of  section
 89-s  of  the  retirement and social security law, as amended by chapter
 578 of the laws of 1998, are amended to read as follows:
   Retirement of members who  serve  as  ambulance  medical  technicians,
 ambulance  medical  technician/supervisors  [and],  members  who perform
 ambulance medical technician related  services,  POLICE  MEDICS,  POLICE
 MEDIC  SUPERVISORS AND MEMBERS WHO PERFORM POLICE MEDIC RELATED SERVICES
 in the Nassau county police department.
   a. Any member who serves as an ambulance medical technician, ambulance
 medical technician/supervisor or a member who performs ambulance medical
 technician related services, OR A POLICE MEDIC, POLICE MEDIC  SUPERVISOR
 OR  A  MEMBER WHO PERFORMS POLICE MEDIC RELATED SERVICES and is employed
 in the Nassau county police  department  shall  be  eligible  to  retire
 pursuant to the provisions of this section. Such eligibility shall be an
 alternative to the eligibility provisions available under any other plan
 of this article to which such member is subject.
   d.  As used in this section "creditable service" shall include any and
 all services performed as an  ambulance  medical  technician,  ambulance
 medical  technician/supervisor  or member who performs ambulance medical
 technician related services, OR A POLICE MEDIC, POLICE MEDIC  SUPERVISOR
 OR  A  MEMBER  WHO  PERFORMS POLICE MEDIC RELATED SERVICES in the Nassau
 county police department.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03627-02-1
              

 S. 2934                             2
 
   § 2. Subdivision a of section 445 of the retirement and social securi-
 ty law, as amended by chapter 476 of the laws of  2018,  is  amended  to
 read as follows:
   a.  No  member of a retirement system who is subject to the provisions
 of this article shall retire without regard to age, exclusive of retire-
 ment for disability, unless he or she is a police officer,  an  investi-
 gator  member  of  the New York city employees' retirement system, fire-
 fighter, correction officer, a qualifying member as defined  in  section
 eighty-nine-t,  as  added by chapter six hundred fifty-seven of the laws
 of nineteen hundred ninety-eight, of this chapter, sanitation worker,  a
 special  officer  (including persons employed by the city of New York in
 the title urban park ranger or  associate  urban  park  ranger),  school
 safety  agent,  campus  peace officer or a taxi and limousine commission
 inspector member of the New York city employees'  retirement  system  or
 the  New  York  city  board of education retirement system, a dispatcher
 member of the New York  city  employees'  retirement  system,  a  police
 communications member of the New York city employees' retirement system,
 an EMT member of the New York city employees' retirement system, a depu-
 ty  sheriff  member of the New York city employees' retirement system, a
 correction officer of the Westchester county  correction  department  as
 defined  in section eighty-nine-e of this chapter or employed in Suffolk
 county as a peace officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-s, as added
 by chapter five hundred eighty-eight of the  laws  of  nineteen  hundred
 ninety-seven,   of  this  chapter,  employed  in  Suffolk  county  as  a
 correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-f of this chapter,
 or  employed  in  Nassau  county  as  a  correction  officer,  uniformed
 correction  division personnel, sheriff, undersheriff or deputy sheriff,
 as defined in section eighty-nine-g of  this  chapter,  or  employed  in
 Nassau  county  as an ambulance medical technician, an ambulance medical
 technician/supervisor or a member who performs ambulance medical techni-
 cian related services, OR A POLICE MEDIC, POLICE MEDIC SUPERVISOR  OR  A
 MEMBER WHO PERFORMS POLICE MEDIC RELATED SERVICES, as defined in section
 eighty-nine-s,  as  amended by chapter five hundred seventy-eight of the
 laws of nineteen hundred ninety-eight, of this chapter, or  employed  in
 Nassau  county  as a peace officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-s,
 as added by chapter five hundred ninety-five of  the  laws  of  nineteen
 hundred ninety-seven, of this chapter, or employed in Albany county as a
 sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff, correction officer or identifica-
 tion  officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-h of this chapter or is
 employed in St. Lawrence county as a sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sher-
 iff or correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-i  of  this
 chapter  or  is  employed  in Orleans county as a sheriff, undersheriff,
 deputy  sheriff  or  correction   officer,   as   defined   in   section
 eighty-nine-l  of  this  chapter or is employed in Jefferson county as a
 sheriff, undersheriff, deputy sheriff or correction officer, as  defined
 in  section  eighty-nine-j  of  this  chapter or is employed in Onondaga
 county as a deputy sheriff-jail division competitively appointed or as a
 correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-k of this  chapter
 or  is  employed in a county which makes an election under subdivision j
 of section eighty-nine-p of this chapter  as  a  sheriff,  undersheriff,
 deputy  sheriff or correction officer as defined in such section eighty-
 nine-p or is employed in Broome County as a sheriff, undersheriff, depu-
 ty sheriff or correction officer, as defined in section eighty-nine-m of
 this chapter or is a Monroe county  deputy  sheriff-court  security,  or
 deputy  sheriff-jailor  as defined in section eighty-nine-n, as added by
 chapter five hundred ninety-seven of the laws of nineteen hundred  nine-

 S. 2934                             3
 
 ty-one,  of  this  chapter or is employed in Greene county as a sheriff,
 undersheriff, deputy  sheriff  or  correction  officer,  as  defined  in
 section  eighty-nine-o  of this chapter or is a traffic officer with the
 town of Elmira as defined in section eighty-nine-q of this chapter or is
 employed  by  Suffolk  county  as  a  park police officer, as defined in
 section eighty-nine-r of this chapter or is a peace officer employed  by
 a  county  probation  department as defined in section eighty-nine-t, as
 added by chapter six hundred three of the laws of nineteen hundred nine-
 ty-eight, of this chapter or is employed in Rockland county as a  deputy
 sheriff-civil  as  defined  in  section eighty-nine-v of this chapter as
 added by chapter four hundred forty-one of the laws of two thousand one,
 or is employed in Rockland county as a superior  correction  officer  as
 defined  in  section  eighty-nine-v  of this chapter as added by chapter
 five hundred fifty-six of the laws of two thousand one or is a paramedic
 employed by the police department in the town of Tonawanda  and  retires
 under  the provisions of section eighty-nine-v of this chapter, as added
 by chapter four hundred seventy-two of the laws of two thousand one,  or
 is  a  county  fire  marshal,  supervising  fire  marshal, fire marshal,
 assistant fire marshal, assistant  chief  fire  marshal  or  chief  fire
 marshal  employed  by the county of Nassau as defined in section eighty-
 nine-w of this chapter and is in a plan which permits immediate  retire-
 ment  upon completion of a specified period of service without regard to
 age. Except as provided in subdivision c of section four hundred  forty-
 five-a  of  this  article,  subdivision c of section four hundred forty-
 five-b of this article, subdivision c of  section  four  hundred  forty-
 five-c   of   this  article,  subdivision  c  of  section  four  hundred
 forty-five-d of this article, subdivision  c  of  section  four  hundred
 forty-five-e  of  this  article,  subdivision  c of section four hundred
 forty-five-f of this article and subdivision c of section  four  hundred
 forty-five-h  of this article, a member in such a plan and such an occu-
 pation, other than a police officer or investigator member  of  the  New
 York  city  employees'  retirement system or a firefighter, shall not be
 permitted to retire prior to the  completion  of  twenty-five  years  of
 credited service; provided, however, if such a member in such an occupa-
 tion  is  in  a  plan which permits retirement upon completion of twenty
 years of service regardless of age, he or she may retire upon completion
 of twenty years of credited service and prior to the completion of twen-
 ty-five years of service, but in such event the  benefit  provided  from
 funds  other than those based on such a member's own contributions shall
 not exceed two per centum of final average salary per each year of cred-
 ited service.
   § 3. Subdivision o of section 603 of the retirement and social securi-
 ty law, as amended by chapter 578 of the laws of  1998,  is  amended  to
 read as follows:
   o.  The  service  retirement  benefit specified in section six hundred
 four of this article shall be payable to  members  with  twenty-five  or
 more  years  of  creditable  service,  without  regard  to  age, who are
 employed   as   ambulance   medical   technicians,   ambulance   medical
 technician/supervisors  or a member who performs ambulance medical tech-
 nician related services, OR A POLICE MEDIC, POLICE MEDIC SUPERVISOR OR A
 MEMBER WHO PERFORMS POLICE MEDIC  RELATED  SERVICES  within  the  Nassau
 county  police  department,  as defined in section eighty-nine-s of this
 chapter if: (i) such members have met the minimum  service  requirements
 upon  retirement,  and  (ii)  in  the  case  of  a member subject to the
 provisions of article fourteen of this chapter,  such  member  files  an
 election  therefor  which provides that he or she will be subject to the

 S. 2934                             4
 
 provisions of this article and to none of the provisions of such article
 fourteen. Such election, which shall be irrevocable, shall be  in  writ-
 ing,  duly executed and shall be filed with the comptroller on or before
 January  first,  two thousand. For the purposes of this subdivision, the
 term "creditable service" shall have the meaning as so defined  in  both
 sections eighty-nine-s and six hundred one of this chapter.
   § 4. Subdivision p of section 604 of the retirement and social securi-
 ty  law,  as  amended  by chapter 578 of the laws of 1998, is amended to
 read as follows:
   p. The early service retirement for a member who  is  employed  as  an
 ambulance medical technician, ambulance medical technician/supervisor or
 a  member who performs ambulance medical technician related services, OR
 A POLICE MEDIC, POLICE MEDIC SUPERVISOR OR A MEMBER WHO PERFORMS  POLICE
 MEDIC RELATED SERVICES as defined in section eighty-nine-s of this chap-
 ter,  shall  be  a pension equal to one-fiftieth of final average salary
 times years of credited service at the completion of  twenty-five  years
 of service, but not exceeding one-half of his or her final average sala-
 ry;  for service beyond twenty-five years the benefits shall increase by
 one-sixtieth of final average salary for each year of additional service
 credit provided, however, that the total allowance payable  pursuant  to
 this section shall not exceed three-fourths of such member's final aver-
 age salary.
   §  5.  The section heading, the opening paragraph of subdivision a and
 subdivision g of section 605-e of the  retirement  and  social  security
 law, as added by chapter 522 of the laws of 2014, are amended to read as
 follows:
   Accidental  disability  retirement  for  ambulance  medical technician
 supervisors, ambulance medical technician coordinators [and],  ambulance
 medical  technicians,  POLICE  MEDIC SUPERVISORS, POLICE MEDIC COORDINA-
 TORS, AND POLICE MEDICS in Nassau county.
   A member employed as [a] AN ambulance medical  technician  supervisor,
 ambulance  medical technician coordinator [and], ambulance medical tech-
 nician, POLICE MEDIC SUPERVISOR, POLICE  MEDIC  COORDINATOR,  OR  POLICE
 MEDIC  in  Nassau  county  shall be entitled to an accidental disability
 retirement allowance if, at the time application therefor is filed, such
 member is:
   g. Notwithstanding any other provision  of  law,  this  section  shall
 apply  to  ambulance  medical  technician supervisors, ambulance medical
 technician coordinators [and],  ambulance  medical  technicians,  POLICE
 MEDIC  SUPERVISORS,  POLICE  MEDIC  COORDINATORS,  AND  POLICE MEDICS in
 Nassau county who were hired on or after July  twenty-seventh,  nineteen
 hundred seventy-six.
   § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.-- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill will add police medic titles and members who perform police
 medic related services in Nassau County to the ambulance medical techni-
 cian titles eligible for certain retirement benefits.
   If this bill is enacted during the  2021  legislative  session,  there
 will  not be a past service cost as these members were previously in the
 ambulance medical technician titles and covered by the same sections  of
 law.
   There  will be no increase in the annual contributions of Nassau Coun-
 ty.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership data as of March 31, 2020 was used in measuring the  impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2020 actuari-

 S. 2934                             5
 
 al  valuation.  Distributions  and  other statistics can be found in the
 2020 Report of the Actuary and the 2020 Comprehensive  Annual  Financial
 Report.
   The  actuarial  assumptions and methods used are described in the 2020
 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, 2020
 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  fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the viability
 of the proposed change nor is it intended to serve as a  substitute  for
 the professional judgment of an attorney.
   This  estimate,  dated  December  21,  2020, and intended for use only
 during the 2021 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2021-3, prepared
 by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.