S 4074: 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 their duties.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4074 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 31, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SCARCELLA-SPANTON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions 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. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 "Anthony 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 their 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 their 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 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD08379-01-5 
 S. 4074 2 1 member is travelling from their primary residence directly to their 2 place of business, or to a different location where such member was 3 assigned to perform their duties. 4 § 5. The opening paragraph of subdivision a of section 607 of the 5 retirement and social security laws, as amended by chapter 253 of the 6 law of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 7 The eligible beneficiary of a member in service, or of a vested member 8 who dies as a result of a qualifying World Trade Center condition as 9 defined in section two of this chapter, shall be entitled to an acci- 10 dental death benefit in the form of a pension equal to fifty percent of 11 such member's wages earned during [his or her] their last year of actual 12 service or [his or her] their annual wage rate if [he or she was] they 13 were credited with less than one year of service since last becoming a 14 member, if, upon application filed within five years after the death of 15 the member, the head of the retirement system determines that such 16 member died before the effective date of retirement, as the natural and 17 proximate result of an accident not caused by [his or her] such member's 18 own willful negligence sustained in the performance of [his or her] 19 their duties in active service and while actually a member of the 20 retirement system. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the 21 contrary, a member shall be considered to have died as the natural and 22 proximate result of an accident sustained in the performance of duty if 23 such member is travelling from their primary residence directly to their 24 place of business, or to a different location where such member was 25 assigned to perform their duties. 26 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to 27 have been in full force and effect on and after September 11, 2022.