A 11469

                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
                                   11469
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
                               May 20, 2026
                                ___________
 Introduced  by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Bendett) --
   read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees
 AN ACT granting retroactive membership with Tier IV status  in  the  New
   York state and local employees' retirement system to Christine Fernan-
   dez
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
   Section 1. Notwithstanding any other law to  the  contrary,  Christine
 Fernandez,  formerly  Christine  Lennard, a member of the New York state
 and local employees' retirement system, who was employed  by  the  state
 university  of  New  York  ("SUNY")  at  Buffalo from September 11, 1986
 through June 1989, and who is currently employed by the New  York  state
 thruway  authority,  who  through  no fault of her own was not given the
 option to become a member of the New York  state  and  local  employees'
 retirement  system  in 1986 when first employed by SUNY Buffalo, and did
 not file a membership application in such system  until  April  2,  2020
 when she began her employment with the New York State Police, which gave
 her  Tier  VI  status instead of Tier IV status, shall be deemed to have
 been a member of the New York  state  and  local  employees'  retirement
 system  on  such  date she commenced her employment with SUNY Buffalo in
 September 11, 1986, and shall be granted Tier IV status,  provided  that
 an  application  is  filed with the head of the New York state and local
 employees' retirement system within one year from the effective date  of
 this  act.  Upon  the granting of such retroactive membership, Christine
 Fernandez shall not be granted a refund  of  any  employee  contribution
 made  by  her  to  the  New  York  state and local employees' retirement
 system.
   § 2. All past service costs associated with the implementation of this
 act shall be borne by the state of New York.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   This bill would grant Tier 4 status in the New York  State  and  Local
 Employees' Retirement System (NYSLERS) to Christine Fernandez, a current
 Tier  6  member  employed  by  the  New York state thruway authority, by
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09373-06-6
 A. 11469                            2
 changing their date of membership to September 11, 1986, their  date  of
 first  employment  with  the  state  university  of  New  York (SUNY) at
 Buffalo.
   There will be no refund of member contributions.
   We  estimate  that  annual contributions will increase $11,000 for the
 New York state thruway authority beginning FYE 2027. Annual  costs  will
 vary as the billing rates and salary of Christine Fernandez change.
   In  addition, there will be an immediate past service cost of $29,400,
 borne by the state of New York as a one-time payment. This cost  assumes
 that payment will be made on March 1, 2027.
   Summary of relevant resources:
   Membership data as of March 31, 2025 was used to measure the impact of
 the  bill, the same data used in the Actuarial Valuations dated April 1,
 2025. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2025 Report
 of the Actuary and the 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial  Report.  The
 actuarial  assumptions and methods used are described in the 2025 Annual
 Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions, and the Codes, Rules
 and Regulations of the State of New York: Audit and  Control.  The  fair
 value  of assets and GASB disclosures can be found in the 2025 Financial
 Statements and Supplementary Information.
   Assumptions, demographics, and  other  considerations  may  have  been
 modified  to  better reflect specific provisions of any proposed benefit
 change(s).
   This fiscal note does not constitute a legal opinion on the  viability
 of the bill, nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for the profes-
 sional judgment of an attorney.
   This  estimate, dated March 27, 2026, and intended for use only during
 the 2026 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note Number 2026-155.  As  Chief
 Actuary  of  the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS), I,
 Aaron Schottin Young, hereby certify that this  analysis  complies  with
 applicable  Actuarial  Standards  of  Practice  as  well  as the Code of
 Professional Conduct and Qualification Standards for  Actuaries  Issuing
 Statements of Actuarial Opinion of the American Academy of Actuaries, of
 which  I  am  a  member.  I  am a member of NYSLRS but do not believe it
 impairs my objectivity.