Reproduced below is the final chapter version (printed today, 9/10/19) of the 9/11 extender bill, which was signed into law by the governor on Friday, September 7, 2018.
LAWS OF NEW YORK, 2018
CHAPTER 266
(See FISCAL NOTES at end of Chapter.)
1 AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law and the workers'
2 compensation law, in relation to participants in the World Trade
3 Center rescue
4
5 Became a law September 7, 2018, with the approval of the Governor.
6 Passed by a majority vote, three-fifths being present.
7
8 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
9 bly, do enact as follows:
10
11 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 36 of section 2 of the
12 retirement and social security law, as amended by chapter 326 of the
13 laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows:
14 (a) "Qualifying World Trade Center condition" shall mean a qualifying
15 condition or impairment of health resulting in disability to a member
16 who participated in World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup oper-
17 ations for a qualifying period, as those terms are defined below,
18 provided the following conditions have been met: (i) such member, or
19 eligible beneficiary in the case of the member's death, must have filed
20 a written and sworn statement with the member's retirement system on a
21 form provided by such system indicating the underlying dates and
22 locations of employment not later than September eleventh, two thousand
23 [eighteen] twenty-two, and (ii) such member has either successfully
24 passed a physical examination for entry into public service, or author-
25 ized release of all relevant medical records, if the member did not
26 undergo a physical examination for entry into public service; and (iii)
27 there is no evidence of the qualifying condition or impairment of health
28 that formed the basis for the disability in such physical examination
29 for entry into public service or in the relevant medical records, prior
30 to September eleventh, two thousand one except for such member, or
31 eligible beneficiary in the case of the member's death, of a local
32 retirement system of a city with a population of one million or more
33 that is covered by section 13-551 of the administrative code of the city
34 of New York, or by section twenty-five hundred seventy-five of the
35 education law and for such member who separated from service with vested
36 rights, or eligible beneficiary of such member who separated from
37 service with vested rights in the case of the member's death, of a local
38 retirement system of a city with a population of one million or more who
39 are covered by sections 13-168, 13-252.1 or 13-353.1 of the administra-
40 tive code of the city of New York or sections five hundred seven-c, six
41 hundred five-b, six hundred five-c, or six hundred seven-b of this chap-
42 ter. The deadline for filing a written and sworn statement required by
43 subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall be September eleventh, two
44 thousand [eighteen] twenty-two for such member, or eligible beneficiary
45 in the case of the member's death, of a local retirement system of a
46 city with a population of one million or more that is covered by section
47 13-551 of the administrative code of the city of New York, or by section
48
49 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law
50 to be omitted.
1 CHAP. 266 2
2
3 twenty-five hundred seventy-five of the education law and for such
4 member who separated from service with vested rights, or eligible bene-
5 ficiary of such member who separated from service with vested rights in
6 the case of the member's death, of a local retirement system of a city
7 with a population of one million or more who are covered by sections
8 13-168, 13-252.1 or 13-353.1 of the administrative code of the city of
9 New York and sections five hundred seven-c, six hundred five-b, six
10 hundred five-c, or six hundred seven-b of this chapter. Every retirement
11 system shall keep a copy of every written and sworn statement that is
12 presented for filing not later than September eleventh, two thousand
13 [eighteen] twenty-two, including those that are rejected for filing as
14 untimely.
15 § 2. Section 162 of the workers' compensation law, as amended by chap-
16 ter 326 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows:
17 § 162. Registration of participation in World Trade Center rescue,
18 recovery and clean-up operations. In order for the claim of a partic-
19 ipant in World Trade Center rescue, recovery and clean-up operations to
20 come within the application of this article, such participant must file
21 a written and sworn statement with the board on a form promulgated by
22 the chair indicating the dates and locations of such participation and
23 the name of such participant's employer during the period of partic-
24 ipation. Such statement must be filed not later than September eleventh,
25 two thousand [eighteen] twenty-two. The board shall transmit a copy of
26 such statement to the employer or carrier named therein. The filing of
27 such a statement shall not be considered the filing of a claim for bene-
28 fits under this chapter.
29 § 3. Section 168 of the workers' compensation law is amended by adding
30 a new subdivision 4 to read as follows:
31 4. A claim by a participant in the World Trade Center rescue, recovery
32 or cleanup operations whose disablement occurred between September elev-
33 enth, two thousand fifteen, and September eleventh, two thousand seven-
34 teen, shall not be disallowed as barred by section eighteen or section
35 twenty-eight of this chapter if such claim is filed on or before Septem-
36 ber eleventh, two thousand twenty-two. Any such claim by a participant
37 in the World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup operations whose
38 disablement occurred between September eleventh, two thousand fifteen,
39 and September eleventh, two thousand seventeen, and was disallowed by
40 section eighteen or twenty-eight of this chapter shall be reconsidered
41 by the board.
42 § 4. Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, none of the
43 provisions of this act shall be subject to section 25 of the retirement
44 and social security law.
45 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to
46 have been in full force and effect on and after September 11, 2001;
47 provided, however, that the amendments to sections 162 and 168 of the
48 workers' compensation law made by sections two and three of this act,
49 respectively, shall apply to all open and closed claims coming within
50 its purview.
51 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
52 FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
53 This bill would amend chapter 93 of the Laws of 2005 and chapter 445
54 of the Laws of 2006, which provided members of public retirement systems
55 who contract any form of disease or disability related to exposure to
56 any elements in connection with the World Trade Center (WTC) attack of
57 September 11, 2001 to be presumptive evidence that such disability, or
58 death as a result of such disability was the result of an accident and
1 3 CHAP. 266
2
3 was sustained in the performance of duty. The provisions of this act
4 will not be subject to Section 25 of the Retirement and Social Security
5 Law.
6 Insofar as this bill would affect the New York State and Local Employ-
7 ees' Retirement and the New York State and Local Police and Fire Retire-
8 ment System, this bill would extend the deadline for filing notice
9 regarding the eligibility for benefits for certain members who partic-
10 ipated in the World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup operation
11 to September 11, 2022.
12 If this bill is enacted, it would reclassify certain current and
13 future retirement benefits. The cost of the revised benefit will depend
14 upon the applicant's age, service, salary, plan, and benefit type other-
15 wise payable.
16 Benefit None Ordinary In Performance Service
17 without Disability of Duty
18 enactment: Disability
19 Cost for WTC 9 times 5 times 2.5 times 2 times
20 benefit: salary salary salary salary
21 This bill would also lead to more deaths being classified as "acci-
22 dental". For each death classified as accidental due to this bill, the
23 cost would depend on the age, service, salary, plan, and status at time
24 of death. It is estimated that the cost for each ERS and PFRS individual
25 affected would average approximately 3.5 times final average salary and
26 8 times final average salary, respectively.
27 These cost would be shared by the State of New York and the partic-
28 ipating employers in the ERS and PFRS.
29 Summary of relevant resources:
30 The membership data used in measuring the impact of the proposed
31 change was the same as that used in the March 31, 2017 actuarial valu-
32 ation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2017
33 Report of the Actuary and the 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial
34 Report.
35 The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015,
36 2016, and 2017 Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assump-
37 tions, and the Codes Rules and Regulations of the State of New York:
38 Audit and Control.
39 The Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March 31, 2017
40 New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements and
41 Supplementary Information.
42 I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and meet the Quali-
43 fication Standards to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
44 This estimate, dated February 8, 2018 and intended for use only during
45 the 2018 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2018-55, prepared by
46 the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement System.
47 FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
48 This bill would amend Subdivision 36 of Section 2 of the Retirement
49 and Social Security Law to extend the deadline to September 11, 2022 for
50 filing notice of having participated in the World Trade Center rescue,
51 recover or cleanup operations during the qualifying period. Members who
52 become disabled or die as a result of a "qualifying World Trade Center
53 condition" are assumed to have become disabled or died as a result of an
54 accidental or on-the-job disability or death. This act shall take effect
55 immediately and shall be deemed to have been in full force and effect on
56 and after September 11, 2001.
1 CHAP. 266 4
2
3 The annual cost to the employers of members of the New York State
4 Teachers' Retirement System is estimated to be negligible if this bill
5 is enacted.
6 Member data is from the System's most recent actuarial valuation
7 files, consisting of data provided by the employers to the Retirement
8 System. Data distributions and statistics can be found in the System's
9 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). System assets are as
10 reported in the System's financial statements, and can also be found in
11 the CAFR. Actuarial assumptions and methods are provided in the System's
12 Actuarial Valuation Report.
13 The source of this estimate is Fiscal Note 2018-12 dated March 9, 2018
14 prepared by the Actuary of the New York State Teachers' Retirement
15 System and is intended for use only during the 2018 Legislative Session.
16 I, Richard A. Young, am the Actuary for the New York State Teachers'
17 Retirement System. I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries
18 and I meet the Qualification Standards of the American Academy of Actu-
19 aries to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
20 FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
21 SUMMARY OF BILL: With respect to the New York City Retirement Systems
22 and Pension Funds (NYCRS), the proposed legislation would amend Retire-
23 ment and Social Security Law (RSSL) Section 2, to extend, for certain
24 members who participated in the Rescue, Recovery or Cleanup operations
25 related to the World Trade Center (WTC) attack on September 11, 2001
26 (Covered Groups), the deadline for filing a Notice of Participation
27 under the WTC Disability Law.
28 The NYCRS include: New York City Employees' Retirement System
29 (NYCERS), New York City Teachers' Retirement System (NYCTRS), New York
30 City Board of Education Retirement System (BERS), New York City Police
31 Pension Fund (POLICE) and New York City Fire Pension Fund (FIRE).
32 The proposed legislation would also amend provisions of the Workers'
33 Compensation Law (WCL). However, because such provisions do not directly
34 impact the NYCRS, the financial impact of amendments to the WCL are not
35 reflected in this fiscal note.
36 None of the provisions of the proposed legislation would be subject to
37 Retirement and Social Security Law Section 25, and therefore, State
38 appropriation would not be required.
39 Effective Date for this proposed legislation: Upon enactment, and
40 would, as it relates to the NYCERS, be deemed retroactive to September
41 11, 2001.
42 DEADLINES UNDER EXISTING PROVISIONS: Under current law, as enacted by
43 Chapter 326 of the Laws of 2016, the deadline to file a Notice of
44 Participation for Covered Groups is September 11, 2018.
45 DEADLINES UNDER PROPOSED LEGISLATION: With respect to the NYCRS, the
46 proposed legislation would extend the deadline for filing a Notice of
47 Participation under the WTC Disability Law for Covered Groups from
48 September 11, 2018 to September 11, 2022.
49 ADDITIONAL EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS: The increase in employer contrib-
50 utions resulting from the proposed legislation would depend on the
51 number of additional members who timely file the required form, meet the
52 requirements of the WTC Disability Law, and ultimately benefit from such
53 Law.
54 Most members eligible for the benefits provided under the WTC Disabil-
55 ity Law have already filed the required form to register for partic-
56 ipation. Therefore, for the purpose of this Fiscal Note it has been
57 assumed that only a minimal number of NYCRS members would benefit from
1 5 CHAP. 266
2
3 the proposed legislation and that the increase in employer contributions
4 would likely be de minimis.
5 ACTUARIAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODS: The additional employer contrib-
6 utions presented herein have been calculated based on the same actuarial
7 assumptions and methods in effect for the June 30, 2016 (Lag) actuarial
8 valuations used to determine the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2018 employer
9 contributions of NYCRS. Please note these assumptions and methods are
10 subject to change as this valuation is not considered final until the
11 end of the Fiscal Year 2018.
12 STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: I, Sherry S. Chan, am the Chief Actu-
13 ary for, and independent of, the New York City Retirement Systems and
14 Pension Funds. I am a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, an Enrolled
15 Actuary under the Employee Retirement Income and Security Act of 1974
16 (ERISA), a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and a Fellow of
17 the Conference of Consulting Actuaries. I meet the Qualification Stand-
18 ards of the American Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opin-
19 ion contained herein. To the best of my knowledge, the results contained
20 herein have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted actuari-
21 al principles and procedures and with the Actuarial Stand
22 tice issued by the Actuarial Standards Board.
23 FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This Fiscal Note 2018-07 dated March 9,
24 2018, was prepared by the Chief Actuary for New York City Employees'
25 Retirement System, the New York City Teachers' Retirement System, the
26 New York City Board of Education Retirement System, the New York City
27 Police Pension Fund, and the New York City Fire Pension Fund. This esti-
28 mate is intended for use only during the 2018 Legislative Session.
29
30 The Legislature of the STATE OF NEW YORK ss:
31 Pursuant to the authority vested in us by section 70-b of the Public
32 Officers Law, we hereby jointly certify that this slip copy of this
33 session law was printed under our direction and, in accordance with such
34 section, is entitled to be read into evidence.
35
36 JOHN J. FLANAGAN CARL E. HEASTIE
37 Temporary President of the Senate Speaker of the Assembly