§ 331 — Participation by public or quasi-public organizations

§ 331. Participation by public or quasi-public organizations. a. Any\npublic or quasi-public organization which heretofore joined the New York\nstate and local employees' retirement system, on behalf of its police\nofficers and firefighters, shall on and after April first, nineteen\nhundred sixty-seven, participate, on behalf of such police officers and\nfirefighters, in the police and fire retirement system pursuant to the\nprovisions of this article.\n b. On and after April first, nineteen hundred sixty-seven, any public\nor quasi-public organization created wholly or partly or deriving its\npowers by the legislature of the state and which organization employs\npolice officers and firefighters engaged in service to the public, by\nresolution legally adopted by its governing body and approved by the\ncomptroller, may elect to have its police officers and firefighters\nbecome eligible to participate in the New York state and local police\nand fire retirement system. Acceptance of the officers and employees of\nsuch an employer for membership in the New York state and local police\nand fire retirement system shall be optional with the comptroller. If he\nor she shall approve their participation, such organization, except as\nspecifically provided in this article to the contrary, shall thereafter\nbe treated as a participating employer. Notwithstanding the foregoing\nprovisions of this subdivision, The Long Island Rail Road Company, upon\nits election filed with the comptroller, shall participate in the New\nYork state and local police and fire retirement system with respect to\nLIRR police officers as defined in paragraph two of subdivision a of\nsection three hundred eighty-nine of this article who are referred to in\nparagraph three of subdivision b or in paragraph one of subdivision c of\nsection three hundred forty of this article, their benefits to be as\nprovided in or pursuant to such section three hundred eighty-nine,\nprovided that such election may only be made subsequent to the latest\ndate of the enactment of federal legislation or receipt of assurance or\nrelief from the relevant federal agency or agencies for all of the\nfollowing: removal of such LIRR police officers from coverage under the\nFederal Employers' Liability Act and the federal Railway Labor Act,\nremoval of such LIRR police officers from coverage under the federal\nRailroad Retirement Act and the federal Railroad Unemployment Insurance\nAct and exemption for such LIRR police officers and The Long Island\nRailroad Company from liability either for taxes under the federal\nRailroad Retirement Tax Act or the federal Railroad Unemployment\nRepayment Tax, and further provided that the authority for such election\nshall expire and be null and void if each such enactment or receipt is\nnot effected on or before June fifteenth, nineteen hundred ninety-six.\n c. 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 police and fire retirement system and on account of\nwhich such employer pays contributions shall be considered as member\nservice. An officer or employee of such employer who, as of the date he\nor she is so approved for membership in the police and fire retirement\nsystem, is already a member thereof, shall not have his or her total\ncredit reduced by such approval. Any reserve held on account of any such\nofficer or employee in the pension accumulation fund shall be used as an\noffset against the deficiency contribution payable thereafter by such\nemployer on account of such officer or employee for any prior service\ncredit and any such previous credit. Except as otherwise provided in\nthis article, a police officer or firefighter of such employer who, by\nreason of his or her service, is a member of any other governmental\nretirement system shall not participate in the police and fire\nretirement system on that part of his or her compensation so covered.\nThe term "governmental retirement system," as used in this subdivision,\nshall include any retirement system wholly or partly maintained by this\nstate, by 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 The provision in subdivision b of this section limiting participation\nin the New York state police and fire retirement system by reason of\nmembership in another governmental retirement system shall not diminish\nor in any other way affect the prior or continual membership in the New\nYork state police and fire retirement system, or any rights or benefits\nheretofore or hereafter arising therefrom, of any officer or employee of\na public or quasi-public organization who (1) is in the service of such\nemployer at the time this act takes effect, or was in such service prior\nthereto, and (2) by reason of such service is or was a member of any\nretirement system maintained by the United States government.\n d. 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 police and fire retirement system, who was an\nofficer or employee of such employer at the time of default, upon demand\nmade within ninety days thereafter, shall be entitled to discontinue his\nor her membership in the police and fire retirement system and to a\nrefund of his or her accumulated contributions. As of a date ninety days\nfollowing the date of such certificate of default, the actuary of the\npolice and fire 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 or she shall credit to each\nsuch member and pensioner the amount of reserve so held. In the event\nsuch an active member does not discontinue his or her membership and\nthus become entitled to the refund of his or her accumulated\ncontributions, the reserve so credited, together with the amount of his\nor her accumulated contributions shall be used to provide him or her a\npaid up deferred annuity beginning at age sixty. The reserve of each\npensioner shall be used in providing such part of his or her existing\npension as the reserve so held will provide, which pension, together\nwith his or her annuity, shall thereafter be payable to him or her. The\nrights 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 e. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, the police and fire\nretirement system shall not be liable for the payment of any pensions or\nother benefits on account of the officers, employees or pensioners of\nany employer under this section for which reserves have not been\npreviously created from funds contributed by such employer or its\nofficers or employees for such benefits. This provision shall not apply\nto any municipality which elected to participate in the retirement\nsystem under former section seventy-five-a of this law prior to July\nfirst, nineteen hundred forty-eight.\n