Bill Text: NY A08164 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Relates to impairments of health, presumption and Staph/MRSA.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2018-12-07 - tabled [A08164 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A08164-Amended.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         8164--B
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                      June 1, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced by M. of A. BRINDISI -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee  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 -- again reported  from  said  committee
          with  amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said
          committee
        AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in  relation  to
          impairments of health, presumption and staph/MRSA
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding
     2  a new section 363-ddd to read as follows:
     3    § 363-ddd. Impairments of health; presumption; Staph/MRSA.    Notwith-
     4  standing  any  provision  of  this chapter or of any general, special or
     5  local law to the contrary, any police  officer  or  firefighter  who  is
     6  covered  by  the provisions of section three hundred sixty-three of this
     7  title and who  contracts  methicillin  resistant  staphylococcus  aureus
     8  (MRSA) or Staph/MRSA will be presumed to have contracted such disease in
     9  the  performance  or  discharge  of his or her duties as the natural and
    10  proximate result of an accident and to be disabled from the  performance
    11  of  his  or  her  duties  unless  the  contrary  be  proven by competent
    12  evidence.
    13    § 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,  none
    14  of  the  provisions  of  this  act shall be subject to section 25 of the
    15  retirement and social security law.
    16    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
          FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
          This bill will affect certain members of the New York State and  Local
        Police  and Fire Retirement System by presuming that contracting MRSA or
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04168-05-8

        A. 8164--B                          2
        Staph/MRSA will qualify them for an  accidental  disability  retirement,
        unless the contrary be proven by competent evidence.
          If  this  bill  is  enacted,  it would lead to more disabilities being
        classified as "accidental". The cost of the revised benefit will  depend
        upon the applicant's age, service, salary, plan, and benefit type other-
        wise payable.
        Benefit without   None      Ordinary    In Performance of   Service
        enactment:                  Disability  Duty Disability
        Cost for revised  9 times   5 times     2.5 times         2 times salary
        benefit:          salary    salary      salary
          However,  we  anticipate  that  few  additional  accidental disability
        retirements will be granted, and thus, the resulting costs are  expected
        to be negligible.
          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, 2017  actuarial  valu-
        ation.    Distributions  and  other  statistics can be found in the 2017
        Report of the  Actuary  and  the  2017  Comprehensive  Annual  Financial
        Report.
          The  actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015,
        2016, and 2017 Annual Report to the  Comptroller  on  Actuarial  Assump-
        tions,  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, 2017
        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  27,  2018, and intended for use only
        during the  2018  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No.  2018-64,
        prepared  by  the  Actuary  for  the New York State and Local Retirement
        System.
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