NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7958C
SPONSOR: Abbate (MS) TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the workers' compensation law and the
retirement and social security law in relation to participants in the
World Trade Center rescue
PURPOSE:
Reopens notice of participation for certain members who contracted
illness suffered as a result of participating in rescue, recovery, and
clean up directly related to attacks at the World. Trade Center on
September 11,.2001.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Extends the deadline during which to file as having a world trade center
condition and modifies qualifications.
JUSTIFICATION:
This bill will extend the deadline for filing a registration of partic-
ipation under the World Trade Center (WTC) Disability Law for those
members who were eligible and never filed an application. Some of these
members have become disabled with a WTC qualifying condition and have
been precluded from receiving the WTC disability benefits because they
never filed the notice of participation during the open window period.
This bill will correct this inequity.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
See the bill.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7958--C
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
June 2, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE, GOLDFEDER, SALADINO, COLTON, AUBRY,
MALLIOTAKIS, ORTIZ, CERETTO, SKOUFIS -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
GALEF, MARKEY, THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Governmental Employees -- recommitted to the Committee on Governmental
Employees in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee -- reported and referred to the Committee on Ways
and Means -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee -- again reported from said
committee with amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommit-
ted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law and the retirement and
social security law in relation to participants in the World Trade
Center rescue
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 162 of the workers' compensation law, as amended by
2 section 489 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 162. Registration of participation in World Trade Center rescue,
4 recovery and clean-up operations. In order for the claim of a partic-
5 ipant in World Trade Center rescue, recovery and clean-up operations to
6 come within the application of this article, such participant must file
7 a written and sworn statement with the board on a form promulgated by
8 the chair indicating the dates and locations of such participation and
9 the name of such participant's employer during the period of partic-
10 ipation. Such statement must be filed not later than September eleventh,
11 two thousand [fourteen] eighteen. The board shall transmit a copy of
12 such statement to the employer or carrier named therein. The filing of
13 such a statement shall not be considered the filing of a claim for bene-
14 fits under this chapter.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11342-08-6
A. 7958--C 2
1 § 2. Section 168 of the workers' compensation law is amended by adding
2 a new subdivision 3 to read as follows:
3 3. A claim by a participant in the World Trade Center rescue, recovery
4 or cleanup operations whose disablement occurred between September elev-
5 enth, two thousand twelve, and September eleventh, two thousand fifteen,
6 shall not be disallowed as barred by section eighteen or section twen-
7 ty-eight of this chapter if such claim is filed on or before September
8 eleventh, two thousand eighteen. Any such claim by a participant in the
9 World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup operations whose disable-
10 ment occurred between September eleventh, two thousand twelve, and
11 September eleventh, two thousand fifteen, and was disallowed by section
12 eighteen or twenty-eight of this chapter shall be reconsidered by the
13 board.
14 § 3. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 36 of section 2 of the retirement
15 and social security law, as amended by chapter 472 of the laws of 2014,
16 is amended to read as follows:
17 (a) "Qualifying World Trade Center condition" shall mean a qualifying
18 condition or impairment of health resulting in disability to a member
19 who participated in World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup oper-
20 ations for a qualifying period, as those terms are defined below,
21 provided the following conditions have been met: (i) such member, or
22 eligible beneficiary in the case of the member's death, must have filed
23 a written and sworn statement with the member's retirement system on a
24 form provided by such system indicating the underlying dates and
25 locations of employment not later than September eleventh, two thousand
26 [fifteen] eighteen, and (ii) such member has either successfully passed
27 a physical examination for entry into public service, or authorized
28 release of all relevant medical records, if the member did not undergo a
29 physical examination for entry into public service; and (iii) there is
30 no evidence of the qualifying condition or impairment of health that
31 formed the basis for the disability in such physical examination for
32 entry into public service or in the relevant medical records, prior to
33 September eleventh, two thousand one except for such member, or eligible
34 beneficiary in the case of the member's death, of a local retirement
35 system of a city with a population of one million or more that is
36 covered by section 13-551 of the administrative code of the city of New
37 York, or by section twenty-five hundred seventy-five of the education
38 law and for such member who separated from service with vested rights,
39 or eligible beneficiary of such member who separated from service with
40 vested rights in the case of the member's death, of a local retirement
41 system of a city with a population of one million or more who are
42 covered by sections 13-168, 13-252.1 or 13-353.1 of the administrative
43 code of the city of New York or sections five hundred seven-c, six
44 hundred five-b, six hundred five-c, or six hundred seven-b of this chap-
45 ter. The deadline for filing a written and sworn statement required by
46 subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall be September eleventh, two
47 thousand [fourteen] eighteen for such member, or eligible beneficiary in
48 the case of the member's death, of a local retirement system of a city
49 with a population of one million or more that is covered by section
50 13-551 of the administrative code of the city of New York, or by section
51 twenty-five hundred seventy-five of the education law and for such
52 member who separated from service with vested rights, or eligible bene-
53 ficiary of such member who separated from service with vested rights in
54 the case of the member's death, of a local retirement system of a city
55 with a population of one million or more who are covered by sections
56 13-168, 13-252.1 or 13-353.1 of the administrative code of the city of
A. 7958--C 3
1 New York and sections five hundred seven-c, six hundred five-b, six
2 hundred five-c, or six hundred seven-b of this chapter. Every retirement
3 system shall keep a copy of every written and sworn statement that is
4 presented for filing not later than September eleventh, two thousand
5 [fifteen] eighteen, including those that are rejected for filing as
6 untimely.
7 § 4. Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, none of the
8 provisions of this act shall be subject to section 25 of the retirement
9 and social security law.
10 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to
11 have been in full force and effect on and after September 11, 2001;
12 provided, however, that the amendments to sections 162 and 168 of the
13 workers' compensation law made by sections one and two of this act,
14 respectively, shall apply to all open and closed claims coming within
15 its purview.
FISCAL NOTE.-- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would amend chapter 93 of the Laws of 2005 and chapter 445
of the Laws of 2006, which provided members of public retirement systems
who contract any form of disease or disability related to exposure to
any elements in connection with the World Trade Center tragedy of
September 11, 2001 to be presumptive evidence that such disability, or
death as a result of such disability was the result of an accident and
was sustained in the performance of duty. The provisions of this act
will not be subject to Section 25 of the Retirement and Social Security
Law.
Insofar as this bill would affect the New York State and Local Employ-
ees' Retirement and the New York State and Local Police and Fire Retire-
ment System, this bill would extend the deadline for filing notice
regarding the eligibility for benefits for certain members who partic-
ipated in the World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup operation
to September 11, 2018.
If this bill is enacted, it would lead to more disabilities being
classified as "in performance of duty" or "accidental". For the disabil-
ities so classified due to this bill, the cost would depend on the age,
service, salary and plan of the affected member or retiree, as well as
whether such person would have otherwise been eligible for, or has been
receiving an ordinary disability, a performance of duty disability or a
service retirement. For those who contract such disease prior to retire-
ment, it is estimated that there could be per person one-time costs of
as much as 5 times salary. For those who contract such disease subse-
quent to a service retirement, it is estimated that there would be an
average per person cost of approximately 2 times final average salary.
For those who contract such disease subsequent to an ordinary disability
retirement, it is estimated that there would be an average per person
cost of approximately 5 times final average salary.
This bill would also lead to more deaths being classified as "acci-
dental". For each death classified as accidental due to this bill, the
cost would depend on the age, service, salary and plan of the affected
individual, as well as whether such person was an active member or has
been receiving an ordinary disability, a performance of duty disability,
an accidental disability or a service retirement. It is estimated that
the cost for each ERS and PFRS individual affected would average approx-
imately 3.5 times final average salary and 8 times final average salary,
respectively.
These costs would be shared by the State of New York and the partic-
ipating employers in the ERS and PFRS.
A. 7958--C 4
Summary of relevant resources:
The membership data used in measuring the impact of the proposed
change was the same as that used in the March 31, 2015 actuarial valu-
ation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2015
Report of the Actuary and the 2015 Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015
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, 2015
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 estimate, dated February 16, 2016, and intended for use only
during the 2016 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2016-62,
prepared by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement
System.
FISCAL NOTE.-- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
PROVISIONS OF PROPOSED LEGISLATION: With respect to the New York City
Retirement System (NYCRS), the proposed legislation would amend Retire-
ment and Social Security Law (RSSL) Section 2, to extend, for certain
members who participated in the Rescue, Recovery or Cleanup operations
related to the World Trade Center (WTC) attack on September 11, 2001,
the deadline for filing a Notice of Participation under the WTC Disabil-
ity Law.
The NYCRS include: New York City Employees' Retirement System
(NYCERS), New York City Teachers' Retirement System (NYCTRS), New York
City Board of Education Retirement System (BERS), New York City Police
Pension Fund (POLICE) and New York Fire Department Pension Fund (FIRE).
The effective date of this proposed legislation would be the date of
enactment, and would, as it related to NYCRS, be deemed retroactive to
September 11, 2001.
DEADLINES UNDER EXISTING PROVISIONS: Under current law, there are two
different deadlines, depending on covered groupings, for timely filing a
Notice of Participation.
Chapter 489 of the Laws of 2013 expanded coverage of the WTC Disabili-
ty law to certain groups (Chapter 489/13 Covered Groups), and enacted a
September 11, 2014 deadline for eligible individuals within those Groups
to file a Notice of Participation. Chapter 489/13 Covered Groups
include:
* Active, vested and retired Tier 1 and 2 NYCTRS members
* Active, vested and retired Tier 1 and 2 BERS members
* Vested Tier 1 and 2 NYCERS members
* Vested Tier 1 and 2 POLICE members
* Vested Tier 1 and 2 FIRE members
* Vested Tier 3 NYCERS Uniformed Corrections members
* Vested Tier 4 NYCERS Uniformed Sanitation members
* Vested Tier 4 and 6 NYCERS Deputy Sheriff members
* Vested Tier 4 and 6 NYCERS EMT members
Chapter 472 of the Laws of 2014 extended the deadline to file a Notice
of Participation for all eligible groups not included in the Chapter
489/13 Covered Groups (the Original Covered Groups) to September 11,
2015.
DEADLINES UNDER PROPOSED LEGISLATION: With respect to the NYCERS, the
proposed legislation would extend the deadline for filing a Notice of
A. 7958--C 5
Participation under the WTC Disability Law for the Original Covered
Groups from September 11, 2015 to September 11, 2018, and extend the
deadline for the Chapter 489/13 Covered Groups from September 11, 2014
to September 11, 2018.
ADDITIONAL EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS: The increase in employer contrib-
utions as a result of the proposed legislation would depend on the
number of additional members who file the required form, meet the
requirements of the WTC Disability Laws and then ultimately benefit from
one of the Laws.
As the Actuary believes that most members who would be eligible for
the benefits provided under the WTC Disability Law have already filed
the required form to register for participation, only a few members
likely would benefit form the proposed legislation and, therefore, the
increase in employer contributions would likely be de minimis.
ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The additional employer costs and
contributions have been determined based on the actuarial assumptions
and methods used in June 30, 2015 (Lag) actuarial valuations of NYCRS.
STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Sherry S. Chan, am the Chief Actu-
ary for the New York City Retirement Systems. I am an Associate of the
Society of Actuaries, a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries
and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. I meet the Qualifica-
tion Standards of the American Academy of Actuaries to render the actu-
arial opinion contained herein.
FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This Fiscal Note 2016-17 dated April 11,
2016, was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Employees'
Retirement System, the New York City Teachers' Retirement System, the
New York City Board of Education Retirement System, the New York City
Police Pension Fund and the New York Fire Department Pension Fund. This
estimate is intended for use only during the 2016 Legislative Session.
FISCAL NOTE.-- Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill would amend Subdivision 36 of Section 2 of the Retirement
and Social Security Law to extend the deadline to September 11, 2018 for
filing notice of having participated in the World Trade Center rescue,
recover or cleanup operations during the qualifying period. Members who
become disabled or die as a result of a "qualifying World Trade Center
condition" are assumed to have become disabled or died as a result of an
accidental or on-the-job disability or death. This act shall take effect
immediately and shall be deemed to have been in full force and effect on
and after September 11, 2001.
The annual cost to the employers of members of the New York State
Teachers' Retirement System is estimated to be negligible if this bill
is enacted.
Employee data is from the System's most recent actuarial valuation
files, consisting of data provided by the employers to the Retirement
System. Data distributions and statistics can be found in the System's
Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). System assets are as
reported in the System's financial statements, and can also be found in
the CAFR. Actuarial assumptions and methods are provided in the System's
Actuarial Valuation Report.
The source of this estimate is Fiscal Note 2016-28 dated June 9, 2016
prepared by the Actuary of the New York State Teacher's Retirement
System and is intended for use only during the 2016 Legislative Session.
I, Richard A. Young, am the Actuary for the New York State Teacher's
Retirement System. I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries
and I meet the Qualification Standards of the American Academy of Actu-
aries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
