BILL NUMBER: S6153A
SPONSOR: JACKSON
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to
the retirement of Nassau county 911 operators and fire techs
 
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to provide an optional 25-year retirement
plan for 911 operators employed by Nassau County.
 
SUMMARY OR PRIVISIONS:
This bill would allow Nassau County police communications operators,
police communications operator supervisors, assistant bureau directors
(police 911 communications), and bureau directors (police 911 communi-
cations) to retire upon the completion of 25 years of creditable
service.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Communication specialists and 911 operators deal first-hand with crime
scenes and medical emergencies and are charged with ensuring that appro-
priate authorities arrive on the scene in a timely and efficient manner.
During the absence of emergency response personnel, 911 employees must
guide individuals on the scene with first aid, CPR, and other types of
emergency medical techniques to save lives. These employees must also
deal first-hand with victims of domestic abuse, violence, and other
criminal matters. Communications professionals often must respond to
several emergency situations at once and work with an extremely fast
paced, stressful environment which merits a retirement package similar
to that of other law enforcement and emergency response personnel.
Due to the nature and stress of their work, the recruitment and
retention of county 911 operators is extremely difficult. To help ensure
that Nassau County has enough employees, this legislation would author-
ize the county to offer a 25-year retirement plan.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTC:Y:
2023: Reported and Committed to Finance
2021-2022: S.8686 - Reported and Committed to Finance/A.9656 - Referred
to Governmental Employees
 
STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
See fiscal note.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect January 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
S6153: 603 retirement and social security law, 604 retirement and social security law
S6153A: 603 retirement and social security law, 604 retirement and social security law