S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10263
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               May 15, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  COMMITTEE  ON  RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Fall) --
   read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees
 
 AN ACT to authorize the Honorable Joseph J. Maltese to  receive  compen-
   sation and service credit
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Under New York state law, justices over the age of 70  must
 request  certification  to continue to serve. In September 2020, Justice
 Joseph J. Maltese, who was assigned to the  Appellate  Division,  Second
 Department  of  the Supreme Court and other justices were denied certif-
 ication by the office of court administration based on potential  future
 budget  cuts  that  never materialized. As a result, Justice Maltese and
 other similarly situated justices were terminated effective  January  1,
 2021.    Pursuant  to  chapter 185 of the laws of 2023, judicial compen-
 sation was awarded to 15 justices for the period from January  1,  2021,
 to  June  14,  2021.  The  legislature allocated monies to the office of
 court administration to make those justices whole. Justice Maltese,  who
 believed  he  was  included  in that legislation was not compensated for
 that period of time as he did not resume service at the Appellate  Divi-
 sion,  Second  Department  until November 8, 2021, because he needed the
 Governor's redesignation, to return to the Appellate Division, which did
 not take effect until November 8, 2021.  Justice  Maltese  rejoined  the
 court  with  the  approval  of  the  office  of court administration and
 suspended his pension benefits effective on November 8, 2021.
   This body is in agreement with the  office  of  court  administration,
 that  in  the interest of fairness, and for the purpose of remedying the
 injury to Justice Maltese who was, through no fault of his  own,  denied
 his  compensation and the opportunity to continue to serve the people of
 the state of New York, that Justice Maltese should be made whole, to the
 extent possible, in terms of his salary and his pension.
   § 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule, or  regulation,
 the  office  of court administration is authorized to pay Justice Joseph
 J. Maltese the salary he would have earned from the period of January 1,
 2021 to November 7, 2021.   In the event  that  Justice  Maltese  worked
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD15321-02-4
 A. 10263                            2
 
 full-  or  part-time during the period of January 1, 2021 to November 7,
 2021, outside earnings from such employment shall be deducted  from  the
 amount  payable  as judicial compensation, so that his total wages shall
 not  exceed the amount he would have earned as wages from New York state
 during that period.  The office of court administration is also  author-
 ized to pay to the New York state and local employees' retirement system
 the  amount  that  would  have been deducted and paid to such retirement
 system for the pension credit accrued by  Justice  Maltese  during  such
 period.  All  such  payments  shall  be  made out of moneys appropriated
 therefor. The New York state and local employees' retirement  system  is
 authorized  to  reinstate  Justice  Maltese to the retirement system for
 that period from January 1, 2021 to  November  7,  2021  and  continuing
 until  the  present  time nunc pro tunc, and to adjust his seniority and
 add any additional credits since returning to  the  court  prospectively
 from  November  8,  2021.  The  comptroller  is  authorized to waive the
 payment of interest by Justice Maltese who received his  pension  during
 the period from January 1, 2021 to November 7, 2021, and is now required
 to repay it.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This  bill  would allow Justice Joseph J. Maltese, a member of the New
 York State and Local Employees' Retirement  System  (NYSLERS),  who  was
 dismissed  from  employment  as  a  supreme court justice of the Unified
 Court System during the period beginning January 1, 2021 and  ending  on
 November 7, 2021, to obtain service credit for the duration of the peri-
 od  of  unemployment.    Additionally,  Joseph  J. Maltese shall be paid
 pensionable earnings for the period of January 1, 2021 through  November
 7,  2021,  the  date of reemployment. To be eligible for this additional
 service credit, Joseph J. Maltese, who  retired  and  collected  pension
 benefits  during  the  period of unemployment, will be required to repay
 those benefits. This bill would not be consistent with the NYSLERS poli-
 cy of granting service credit only when  a  salary  has  been  paid  for
 services performed.
   If  this  bill  is  enacted during the 2024 Legislative Session, there
 will be an immediate past service cost of  approximately  $51,900  which
 will  be borne by the New York State Office of Court Administration as a
 one-time payment. This estimate assumes that payment  will  be  made  on
 March 1, 2025.
   This bill will not increase the future annual contributions of the New
 York State Office of Court Administration.
   The  costs  quoted above are in addition to the employer contributions
 required for any  increase  in  pensionable  earnings  reported  to  the
 NYSLERS and are estimated to be $48,000, which will be collected as part
 of the customary billing process.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership  data as of March 31, 2023 was used in measuring the impact
 of the proposed change, the same data used in the April 1, 2023 actuari-
 al valuation.  Distributions and other statistics can be  found  in  the
 2023  Report  of the Actuary and the 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial
 Report.
   The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in  the  2023
 Annual  Report  to  the  Comptroller  on  Actuarial Assumptions, and the
 Codes, Rules and Regulations  of  the  State  of  New  York:  Audit  and
 Control.
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   The Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March 31, 2023
 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 May 8, 2024, and intended for use only during the
 2024  Legislative  Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2024-175, prepared by the
 Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.