Bill Text: NY S07585 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Provides for payment of accidental death benefits for members who die while travelling from their primary residence directly to their place of business, or to a different location where such member was assigned to perform his or her duties.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO CIVIL SERVICE AND PENSIONS [S07585 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S07585-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7585

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      June 28, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. SCARCELLA-SPANTON -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules

        AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in  relation  to
          payment of accidental death benefits for members who die while travel-
          ling to work

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

     1    Section 1. The act shall  be  known  and  may  be  cited  as  "Anthony
     2  Varvaro's law".
     3    §  2.  Section 61 of the retirement and social security law is amended
     4  by adding a new subdivision a-1 to read as follows:
     5    a-1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law  to  the  contrary,  a
     6  member  shall  be  considered  to have died as the natural and proximate
     7  result of an accident sustained in  the  performance  of  duty  if  such
     8  member  is  travelling  from  their  primary residence directly to their
     9  place of business, or to a different  location  where  such  member  was
    10  assigned to perform his or her duties.
    11    §  3. Section 361 of the retirement and social security law is amended
    12  by adding a new subdivision a-1 to read as follows:
    13    a-1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law  to  the  contrary,  a
    14  member  shall  be  considered  to have died as the natural and proximate
    15  result of an accident sustained in  the  performance  of  duty  if  such
    16  member  is  travelling  from  their  primary residence directly to their
    17  place of business, or to a different  location  where  such  member  was
    18  assigned to perform his or her duties.
    19    §  4. Section 509 of the retirement and social security law is amended
    20  by adding a new subdivision a-1 to read as follows:
    21    a-1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law  to  the  contrary,  a
    22  member  shall  be  considered  to have died as the natural and proximate
    23  result of an accident sustained in  the  performance  of  duty  if  such
    24  member  is  travelling  from  their  primary residence directly to their

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11781-01-3
        S. 7585                             2

     1  place of business, or to a different  location  where  such  member  was
     2  assigned to perform his or her duties.
     3    §  5.  The  opening  paragraph  of subdivision a of section 607 of the
     4  retirement and social security laws, as amended by chapter  253  of  the
     5  law of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
     6    The eligible beneficiary of a member in service, or of a vested member
     7  who  dies  as  a  result of a qualifying World Trade Center condition as
     8  defined in section two of this chapter, shall be entitled  to  an  acci-
     9  dental  death benefit in the form of a pension equal to fifty percent of
    10  such member's wages earned during his or her last year of actual service
    11  or his or her annual wage rate if he or she was credited with less  than
    12  one  year  of service since last becoming a member, if, upon application
    13  filed within five years after the death of the member, the head  of  the
    14  retirement  system determines that such member died before the effective
    15  date of retirement, as the natural and proximate result of  an  accident
    16  not  caused  by  his  or  her  own  willful  negligence sustained in the
    17  performance of his or her duties in active service and while actually  a
    18  member of the retirement system.  Notwithstanding any other provision of
    19  law  to  the  contrary, a member shall be considered to have died as the
    20  natural and proximate result of an accident sustained in the performance
    21  of duty if such  member  is  travelling  from  their  primary  residence
    22  directly  to  their  place of business, or to a different location where
    23  such member was assigned to perform his or her duties.
    24    § 6. This act shall take effect immediately and  shall  be  deemed  to
    25  have been in full force and effect on and after September 11, 2022.