S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4779
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 11, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. HINCHEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
 
 AN ACT to authorize the village of Athens, in the county of  Greene,  to
   offer an optional twenty-year retirement plan to police officer Edward
   Tercasio, Jr.

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
 the village of Athens, in the county of Greene, a participating employer
 in the New York state and local police and fire retirement system, which
 previously elected to offer the optional  twenty-year  retirement  plan,
 established pursuant to section 384-d of the retirement and social secu-
 rity law, to police officers employed by such village, is hereby author-
 ized  to  make  participation in such plan available to Edward Tercasio,
 Jr., a police officer employed  by  the  village  of  Athens,  who,  for
 reasons  not  ascribable  to his own negligence, failed to make a timely
 application to participate in such optional twenty-year retirement plan.
 The village of Athens may so elect by filing with the state comptroller,
 within 12 months of the effective date of this act, a resolution of  the
 village  board  of trustees together with certification that such police
 officer did not bar himself from participation in such  retirement  plan
 as  a  result of his own negligence. Thereafter, such police officer may
 elect to be covered by the provisions of section 384-d of the retirement
 and social security law, and shall be entitled to the  full  rights  and
 benefits  associated  with  coverage  under  such  section,  by filing a
 request to that effect with the state comptroller within  18  months  of
 the effective date of this act.
   §  2.  All  past  costs associated with implementing the provisions of
 this act shall be borne by the village of Athens and  may  be  amortized
 over a period of ten years.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD09084-02-1

 S. 4779                             2
 
   FISCAL NOTE.-- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill  would  allow  the Village of Athens to elect to reopen the
 provisions of Section 384-d of the Retirement and  Social  Security  Law
 for police officer Edward Tercasio Jr.
   If  this bill is enacted during the 2021 legislative session and Offi-
 cer Tercasio becomes covered under the provisions of Section  384-d,  we
 anticipate  that  there will be an increase of approximately $810 in the
 annual contributions of the Village of Athens for the fiscal year ending
 March 31, 2022. In future years, this cost  will  vary  as  the  billing
 rates and salary of Officer Tercasio change.
   In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
 an  immediate  past  service cost of approximately $41,600 which will be
 borne by the Village of Athens as a one-time payment. This  estimate  is
 based  on  the assumption that payment will be made on February 1, 2022.
 If the Village of Athens elects to amortize this  cost  over  a  10-year
 period, the cost for the first year including interest would be $5,490.
   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-
 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 February 10, 2021,  and  intended  for  use  only
 during  the  2021  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No. 2021-69,
 prepared by the Actuary for the New  York  State  and  Local  Retirement
 System.