NY State Senate Bill 2025-S6554

Senate Bill S6554

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Provides for benefits for certain emergency medical technicians in the city of New York who suffer any condition or impairment of health caused by a stroke resulting in disability or death

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Civil Service And Pensions Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 17, 2025	referred to civil service and pensions

2025-S6554 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A7591
Current Committee:: Senate Civil Service And Pensions
Law Section:: General Municipal Law
Laws Affected:: Add §207-qq, Gen Muni L

2025-S6554 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides for benefits for certain emergency medical technicians or advanced emergency medical technicians in the city of New York who suffer any condition or impairment of health caused by a stroke resulting in disability or death.

2025-S6554 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6554

SPONSOR: JACKSON
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general municipal law, in relation to benefits for
employees of governmental entities performing emergency medical services
in the city of New York who suffer any condition or impairment of health
caused by a stroke resulting in disability or death

 
PURPOSE:

This bill would include stroke in the performance of duty disability
presumptions for paid members of the New York City fire department who
work as emergency medical technicians or advanced emergency medical
technicians, if such person previously successfully passed a physical
exam upon entry in the position that did not reveal any evidence of such
condition.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 adds stroke to the existing heart disease disability presump-

tion found in section two hundred seven-q of the general municipal law,
as enacted by the laws of two thousand two, chapter six hundred ninety-
five, and as extended by section four hundred eighty of the retirement
and social security law.

Section 2 provides that the law shall take effect immediately.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In chapter six hundred ninety-five of the laws of 2002, the Legislature
enacted a "Heart Bill" to establish a presumption for New York city fire
department EMTs and Paramedics who became totally or partially disabled
as a result of heart disease that such disease or injury was incurred in
the performance of the duty unless proven to the contrary. The law
conferred upon those EMTs and paramedics the same presumption that had
previously been accorded to New York city firefighters and police offi-
cer. With the enactment of the EMT Heart Bill, the Legislature recog-
nized that work performed by EMTs and Paramedics requires the same kinds
of physical exertion and stress as the work performed by these other
uniformed personnel, and that a consequence is that, just like fire-
fighters and police officers, EMTs and Paramedics face an increased
likelihood of disabling heart disease that is attributable to their work
as emergency first responders.

The EMT Heart Bill was an important and much-needed reform. However, the
Bill does not extend to disabling events commonly understood to arise
from the same occupational hazards. In particular, the Heart Bill has
not been applied to those who have suffered disabling illness or injury
from strokes.

Epidemiological studies of this nature were the predicate for the Heart
Disease presumptions that are now in place for uniformed forces. Given
the evidence that the vulnerability to strokes is a similar risk for
these individuals, it is appropriate that they should obtain the benefit
of such a presumption if they experience disabling strokes during their
careers.. Notably, the Legislature has included strokes among the disa-
bling conditions for which firefighters may assert a presumption that
the strokes emanated from the performance of their duties. See General
Municipal Law Section 207-k. EMTs and Paramedics deserve the same bene-
fit. Like other uniformed personnel, they put their lives on the line
every day to save the lives of citizens of this state. We, as citizens
should support them when they are disabled as a result of their work,
and they should be entitled to the same protections that firefighters
are provided.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

See Fiscal Note.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S6554 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6554
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 17, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. JACKSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
 
 AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to  benefits  for
   employees   of  governmental  entities  performing  emergency  medical
   services in the city of New York who suffer any condition  or  impair-
   ment of health caused by a stroke resulting in disability or death
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The general municipal  law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
 section 207-qq to read as follows:
   §  207-QQ.   DISABILITIES OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS OR ADVANCED
 EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS IN CERTAIN CITIES RESULTING  FROM  STROKE.
 NOTWITHSTANDING  THE  PROVISIONS OF ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL OR LOCAL LAW OR
 ADMINISTRATIVE CODE TO THE CONTRARY, BUT EXCEPT FOR THE PURPOSES OF  THE
 WORKERS' COMPENSATION LAW AND THE LABOR LAW, ANY CONDITION OF IMPAIRMENT
 OF HEALTH CAUSED BY A STROKE RESULTING IN TOTAL OR PARTIAL DISABILITY OR
 DEATH TO A PAID EMPLOYEE OF A FIRE DEPARTMENT WHO PERFORMS THE FUNCTIONS
 OF AN EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN OR ADVANCED EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNI-
 CIAN  IN  A  CITY  WITH  A POPULATION OF ONE MILLION OR MORE, WHERE SUCH
 EMPLOYEE IS DRAWN FROM COMPETITIVE CIVIL SERVICE LISTS, WHO SUCCESSFULLY
 PASSED A PHYSICAL EXAMINATION ON ENTRY INTO THE SERVICE OF SUCH  DEPART-
 MENT, WHICH EXAMINATION FAILED TO REVEAL ANY EVIDENCE OF SUCH CONDITION,
 SHALL BE PRESUMPTIVE EVIDENCE THAT IT WAS INCURRED IN THE PERFORMANCE OF
 DUTY, UNLESS THE CONTRARY BE PROVED BY COMPETENT EVIDENCE.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY:  This  proposed  legislation  would provide Emergency Medical
 Technicians (EMT) members of the New  York  City  Employees'  Retirement
 System  (NYCERS)  a  rebuttable  statutory presumption that a qualifying
 partial or total disability or death related  to  the  occurrence  of  a
 stroke was incurred in the performance of duty.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00094-02-5

 S. 6554                             2
 
       ILLUSTRATION - INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
          by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Thousands)
 
             One Incident                One Incident Per Year
 Year        Disability   Death          Disability     Death
 2026        52           153            52             153
 2027        52           153            106            310
 2028        52           153            161            471
 2029        52           153            218            638
 2030        52           153            276            810
 2031        52           153            336            987
 2032        52           153            398            1,169
 2033        52           153            462            1,356
 2034        52           153            528            1,550
 2035        52           153            596            1,749
 2036        52           153            666            1,954
 2037        52           153            738            2,165
 2038        52           153            812            2,382
 2039        52           153            889            2,606
 2040        0            0              915            2,684
 2041        0            0              943            2,765
 2042        0            0              971            2,848
 2043        0            0              1,000          2,933
 2044        0            0              1,030          3,021
 2045        0            0              1,061          3,112
 2046        0            0              1,093          3,205
 2047        0            0              1,126          3,302
 2048        0            0              1,159          3,401
 2049        0            0              1,194          3,503
 2050        0            0              1,230          3,608
   Employer contribution impact beyond Fiscal Year 2050 is not shown.
   The potential increases in employer contributions will be allocated to
 New York City.
   PRESENT  VALUE  OF  BENEFITS:  The  Present  Value  of Benefits is the
 discounted expected value of benefits paid to  current  members  if  all
 assumptions are met, including future service accrual and pay increases.
 Future new hires are not included in this present value.
 
          INITIAL INCREASE (DECREASE) IN ACTUARIAL PRESENT VALUES
                   as of June 30, 2024 ($ in Thousands)
 Present Value (PV)                 Per Disability     Per Death
 (1) PV of Employer Contributions:  440                1,290
 (2) PV of Employee Contributions:  (39)                   0
 Total PV of Benefits (1) + (2):    401                1,290
 
   UNFUNDED  ACCRUED  LIABILITY  (UAL): Actuarial Accrued Liabilities are
 the portion of the Present Value of Benefits allocated to past  service.
 Changes in UAL per incident would be recognized as ongoing gain/loss.
 
                AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
 Recognized as Ongoing Gain/Loss    Per Disability     Per Death
 Increase (Decrease) in UAL:        440 K              1,290 K
 Number of Payments:                14                 14
 Amortization Payment:              52 K               153 K
 S. 6554                             3
 
   CENSUS DATA: The number of members who will benefit in the future from
 this proposed legislation is unknown. The estimates presented herein are
 based  on  preliminary  census  data  collected as of June 30, 2024. The
 census data for the potentially impacted population used to develop  the
 average costs is summarized below.
 
                                    NYCERS
      Active Members
      - Number Count:               4,232
      - Average Age:                36.5
      - Average Service:            9.2
      - Average Salary:             73,900
 
   IMPACT  ON  MEMBER  BENEFITS: Currently, NYCERS EMT members who become
 disabled due to a stroke would generally be eligible for  an  applicable
 ordinary  disability  retirement  benefit  after  attaining  10 years of
 service. The disability benefit is generally a lifetime payment equal to
 the greatest of 1/3 of Final Average Salary (FAS), 1/60th of  FAS  times
 service, or the service retirement benefit, if eligible.
   Under  the  proposed  legislation,  the performance of duty disability
 benefit for NYCERS EMT members who are disabled from a stroke  would  be
 equal to 75% of FAS.
   The  ordinary  death  benefit  for  NYCERS  EMT  members is a lump sum
 payment generally equal to three times the member's salary plus a return
 of member contributions. Under the proposed legislation, the performance
 of duty death benefit would generally be equal to a lifetime benefit  of
 50%  of a member's wages earned during their last year of service, plus,
 if applicable, the Special Accidental Death Benefit (SADB) payable under
 General Municipal Law section 208-f.
   ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The  estimates  presented  herein  have  been
 calculated  based  on the Revised 2021 Actuarial Assumptions and Methods
 of the impacted retirement systems.
   The number of members who will benefit from the  proposed  legislation
 is  unknown.  The  cost  of this proposed legislation could vary greatly
 depending on the number of future  members  who  benefit  and  on  their
 length  of service, age, and salary history. In particular, the increase
 would be greater for a member who is not yet eligible  for  an  ordinary
 disability benefit when disabled.
   The  estimated  financial  impact for disabled members has been calcu-
 lated assuming 50% would have retired under the current  ordinary  disa-
 bility  benefit,  and  50%  would have continued working if the proposed
 legislation were not passed.
   RISK AND UNCERTAINTY: The costs presented in this Fiscal  Note  depend
 highly  on  the  actuarial  assumptions, methods, and models used, demo-
 graphics of the impacted population, and other factors such  as  invest-
 ment,  contribution, and other risks. If actual experience deviates from
 actuarial  assumptions,  the  actual  costs  could  differ  from   those
 presented  herein.  Quantifying  these risks is beyond the scope of this
 Fiscal Note.
   This Fiscal Note is intended to measure  pension-related  impacts  and
 does  not  include other potential costs (e.g., administrative and Other
 Postemployment Benefits). This Fiscal Note does not reflect any  chapter
 laws that may have been enacted during the current legislative session.
   STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: Marek Tyszkiewicz and Gregory Zelikov-
 sky  are members of the Society of Actuaries and the American Academy of
 Actuaries. We are members of NYCERS, but do not believe it  impairs  our
 S. 6554                             4
 
 objectivity,  and  we  meet  the Qualification Standards of the American
 Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion  contained  herein.
 To  the  best  of  our 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 2025-30 dated March 14,
 2025 was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City  Retirement
 Systems  and  Pension Funds and is intended for use only during the 2025
 Legislative Session.

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