Bill Text: NY S08686 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Authorizes the city of Buffalo to offer an optional twenty year retirement plan to firefighters Rhiannon Maguire and Jeffrey Brett.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-29 - REFERRED TO CIVIL SERVICE AND PENSIONS [S08686 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S08686-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8686

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 29, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  RYAN  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions

        AN ACT to authorize the city of Buffalo to offer an optional twenty year
          retirement plan to firefighters Rhiannon Maguire and Jeffrey Brett

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
     2  the  city of Buffalo, in the county of Erie, a participating employer in
     3  the New York state and local police and fire  retirement  system,  which
     4  previously  elected  to  offer the optional twenty year retirement plan,
     5  established pursuant to section 384-d of the retirement and social secu-
     6  rity law, to firefighters employed by such city, is hereby authorized to
     7  make participation in  such  plan  available  to  Rhiannon  Maguire  and
     8  Jeffrey  Brett,  firefighters  employed by the city of Buffalo, who, for
     9  reasons not ascribable to their own negligence, failed to make a  timely
    10  application to participate in such optional twenty year retirement plan.
    11  The  city  of Buffalo may so elect by filing with the state comptroller,
    12  within nine months of the effective date of this act,  a  resolution  of
    13  its  own common council together with certification that such firefight-
    14  ers did not bar themselves from participation in such retirement plan as
    15  a result of their own  negligence.  Thereafter,  such  firefighters  may
    16  elect to be covered by the provisions of section 384-d of the retirement
    17  and  social  security  law, and shall be entitled to the full rights and
    18  benefits associated with coverage under such section as well as  section
    19  384-e  of  such  law,  by filing a request to that effect with the state
    20  comptroller within one year of the effective date of this act.
    21    § 2. All employer past service costs associated with implementing  the
    22  provisions  of this act shall be borne by the city of Buffalo and may be
    23  amortized over a ten year period.
    24    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
          FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
          This bill would allow the City of Buffalo to reopen the provisions  of
        section 384-d, together with 384-e, of the Retirement and Social Securi-
        ty Law for firefighters Jeffrey Brett and Rhiannon Maguire.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14155-02-4
        S. 8686                             2

          If this bill is enacted during the 2024 Legislative Session, we antic-
        ipate  that  there  will  be an increase of approximately $10,000 in the
        annual contributions of the City of Buffalo for the fiscal  year  ending
        March 31, 2025. In future years this cost will vary as the billing rates
        and salary of Jeffrey Brett and Rhiannon Maguire change.
          In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
        an  immediate  past service cost of approximately $357,000 which will be
        borne by the City of Buffalo as  a  one-time  payment.    This  estimate
        assumes  that  payment  will be made on February 1, 2025. If the City of
        Buffalo elects to amortize this cost over a 10-year period, the cost for
        each year including interest would be $45,600.
          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.
          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  February  22,  2024, and intended for use only
        during the 2024  Legislative  Session,  is  Fiscal  Note  No.  2024-121,
        prepared  by  the  Actuary  for  the New York State and Local Retirement
        System.