S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4343
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 3, 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 county of Ulster to  offer  an  optional  twenty
   year retirement plan to certain deputy sheriffs employed by such coun-
   ty

   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 county of Ulster, a participating employer in the New York state and
 local employees' retirement system, which previously  elected  to  offer
 the optional twenty year retirement plan established pursuant to section
 552  of  the  retirement  and  social  security  law, to deputy sheriffs
 employed by such county, is hereby authorized to make  participation  in
 such plan available to Kyle Frano, Joseph Sciutto and Emmett Vedder III,
 deputy  sheriffs  employed by the county of Ulster, who, for reasons not
 ascribable to their own negligence failed to make timely application  to
 participate  in  such  twenty year retirement plan. The county of Ulster
 may so elect by filing with the state comptroller within six  months  of
 the effective date of this act, a resolution of the Ulster county legis-
 lature together with certification that such deputy sheriffs did not bar
 themselves  from  participation  in  such retirement plan as a result of
 their own negligence. Thereafter, such deputy sheriffs may elect  to  be
 covered  by  the  provisions of section 552 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 one year of the effective date
 of this act.
   §  2.  All  past  service  costs  associated  with  implementing   the
 provisions of this act shall be borne by the county of Ulster.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE. -- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD04989-02-1

 S. 4343                             2
 
   This  bill  would  allow  the  County of Ulster to elect to reopen the
 provisions of Section 552 of the Retirement and Social Security Law  for
 deputy sheriffs Kyle Frano, Joseph Sciutto, and Emmett Vedder III.
   If this bill is enacted during the 2021 legislative session, we antic-
 ipate  that  there  will  be an increase of approximately $22,000 in the
 annual contributions of the County of Ulster for the fiscal year  ending
 March  31,  2022.  In  future  years, this cost will vary as the billing
 rates and salary of all three deputy sheriffs change.
   In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
 an immediate past service cost of approximately $302,000 which  will  be
 borne  by  the  County of Ulster as a one-time payment. This estimate is
 based on the assumption that payment will be made on February 1, 2022.
   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 January 4, 2021, and intended for use only during
 the  2021  Legislative  Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2021-18, prepared by
 the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.