§ 31 — Participation by public or quasi-public organizations

§ 31. Participation by public or quasi-public organizations. a. Any\npublic or quasi-public organization created wholly or partly or deriving\nits powers by the legislature of the state and which organization\nemploys persons engaged in service to the public or any state agency as\ndefined in section fifty-three-a of the state finance law, or the New\nYork state association of town superintendents of highways, inc. or any\nschool board association, by resolution legally adopted by its governing\nbody and approved by the comptroller, may elect to have its officers and\nemployees become eligible to participate in the retirement system.\nAcceptance of the officers and employees of such an employer for\nmembership in the retirement system shall be optional with the\ncomptroller. If he shall approve their participation, such organization,\nexcept as specifically provided in this article to the contrary, shall\nthereafter be treated as a participating employer. Any election made\npursuant to this subdivision by a school board association shall be\napplicable to current employees of such association.\n b. The officers and employees of such organization shall be credited\nwith such periods of prior service as shall be certified by their\nemployer for service rendered to it, or its predecessor, or the state,\nor in any other capacity approved by such employer and the comptroller.\nService for such employer after the date on which it commences to\nparticipate in the retirement system and on account of which such\nemployer pays contributions shall be considered as member service. An\nofficer or employee of such employer who, as of the date he is so\napproved for membership in the retirement system, is already a member\nthereof, shall not have his total credit reduced by such approval. Any\nreserve held on account of any such officer or employee in the pension\naccumulation fund shall be used as an offset against the deficiency\ncontribution payable thereafter by such employer on account of such\nofficer or employee for any prior service credit and any such previous\ncredit. Except as otherwise provided in this article, an officer or\nemployee of such employer who, by reason of this service, is a member of\nany other governmental retirement system shall not participate in this\nretirement system on that part of his compensation so covered. The term\n"governmental retirement system", as used in this subdivision, shall\ninclude any retirement system wholly or partly maintained by this state,\nby a municipality of this state, by another state or political\nsubdivision thereof, by the United States government, or by any foreign\ncountry or political subdivision thereof.\n c. An agreement, made by such an employer pursuant to this section, to\ncontribute on account of its officers and employees shall be\nirrevocable. In the event that such employer for any reason becomes\nfinancially unable to make the contributions required on account of its\nofficers and employees, it shall be deemed to be in default. A\ncertificate to such effect thereupon shall be sent by the comptroller to\nthe employer and to the state superintendent of financial services.\nEvery member of the retirement system, who was an officer or employee of\nsuch employer at the time of default, upon demand made within ninety\ndays thereafter, shall be entitled to discontinue his membership in the\nretirement system and to a refund of his accumulated contributions. As\nof a date ninety days following the date of such certificate of default,\nthe actuary of the retirement system, by actuarial valuation, shall\ndetermine the amount of the reserves held on account of each active\nmember and pensioner of such employer. He shall credit to each such\nmember and pensioner the amount of reserve so held. In the event such an\nactive member does not discontinue his membership and thus become\nentitled to the refund of his accumulated contributions, the reserve so\ncredited, together with the amount of his accumulated contributions\nshall be used to provide for him a paid up deferred annuity beginning at\nage sixty. The reserve of each pensioner shall be used in providing such\npart of his existing pension as the reserve so held will provide, which\npension, together with his annuity, shall thereafter be payable to him.\nThe rights and privileges of both active members and pensioners of such\nemployer shall thereupon terminate except as to the payment of the\ndeferred annuities so provided for the previous active members and the\nannuities and the pensions, or parts thereof, provided for the\npensioners.\n d. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, the retirement system\nshall not be liable for the payment of any pensions or other benefits on\naccount of the officers, employees or pensioners of any employer under\nthis section, for which reserves have not been previously created from\nfunds contributed by such employer or its officers or employees for such\nbenefits. This provision shall not apply to any municipality which\nelected to participate in the retirement system under former section\nseventy-five-a of this law prior to July first, nineteen hundred\nforty-eight.\n e. 1. Any public organization not participating in the retirement\nsystem prior to October first, nineteen hundred fifty-three, and which\nhas not provided old-age and survivors insurance coverage for its\nemployees, may, at the time of making election to participate, exclude\nfrom eligibility for membership in the retirement system such class or\nclasses of offices or positions for which membership in the retirement\nsystem is not made mandatory by this article, as the public organization\nmay specify in the resolution adopted pursuant to subdivision a of this\nsection. Participation by any such public organization which may exclude\nfrom eligibility for membership any class or classes of its offices or\npositions shall not become effective until such public organization\nshall have entered into an agreement to provide old-age and survivors\ninsurance coverage for such class or classes of offices or positions in\nthe manner and to the extent provided by article three of this chapter.\n 2. Any public organization participating in the retirement system\nprior to October first, nineteen hundred fifty-three, may, by the\nadoption of a resolution in the manner provided in subdivision a of this\nsection and filed with the comptroller prior to the time such public\norganization makes an agreement to provide old-age and survivors\ninsurance coverage for its employees, elect to exclude from eligibility\nfor membership in the retirement system any class or classes of offices\nor positions for which membership in the retirement system is not made\nmandatory by this article. Public notice of the proposed adoption of any\nsuch resolution shall be given at least three months prior to the\nadoption thereof. Officers and employees holding offices or positions\nin any such excluded class or classes, however, who are members of the\nretirement system at the time of the filing of such resolution shall\ncontinue to be members of the retirement system. Such resolution\nproviding for such exclusion from eligibility for membership shall not\nbecome effective, however, until such public organization shall have\nentered into an agreement to provide old-age and survivors insurance\ncoverage for the class or classes of offices or positions so excluded\nfrom eligibility for membership in the retirement system in the manner\nand to the extent provided by article three of this chapter.\n 3. The power to exclude employees from eligibility for membership in\nthe retirement system pursuant to paragraph one or paragraph two of this\nsubdivision e shall terminate on the day after the modification\nextending the old-age and survivors insurance system to any position\ncovered by such system and held by an employee of a political\nsubdivision of the state (exclusive of one in a police officer's or\nfirefighter's position) is executed.\n