BILL NUMBER: S3815A
SPONSOR: RIVERA
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general municipal law, in relation to allowing for
certain child beneficiaries to receive accidental death benefits for the
duration of their lifetime
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Allows for certain child beneficiaries to receive accidental death bene-
fits for the duration of their lifetime
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: amend the opening paragraphs of subdivision a, b, and c and
subdivision f of section 208-f of the general municipal law, as it
relates to the Special Accidental Death Benefit (SADB), to modify the
existing class of child beneficiaries to include children who were under
the age of 25 when the death of a member occurred would be eligible to
receive SADB.
Section 2: Amend the law to provide that no individual receiving bene-
fits under section 208-f of the General Municipal Law prior to the
effective date of this act shall be required to repay any benefits
received.
Section 3:Amend the law to provide that an individual who would have
been eligible for benefits under section 208-f of the General Municipal
Law as the child of a deceased police department member, under the age
of 21 at the time of the member's death, and who aged out prior to this
act's effective date, shall be eligible for such benefits if the member
died before the effective date of this act. No reduction in benefits to
another beneficiary shall occur without that beneficiary's consent.
Individuals who have reached the age of 30 at the time of application
shall not be eligible.
Section 4: Provide effective date of the legislation.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
NYPD Officer Miosotis P. Familia was killed in the line of duty on July
5, 2017. While Fourth of July fireworks were going off, Detective Fami-
lia was callously shot in the head while she sat in her police vehicle
at East 183rd Street and Morris Avenue in the Bronx. Officer Familia
was brutally assassinated in an ambush attack solely for the blue NYPD
uniform she proudly wore.
Officer Familia was the first female police officer killed in the line
of duty since 9/11, and only the third female officer killed in the line
of duty in the history of the NYPD. The Police Commissioner stated,
"Make no mistake: Officer Familia was murdered for her uniform and for
the responsibility she embraced".
Officer Familia was a single mother and left behind three young chil-
dren, Genesis Villella, age 20, and twins Deliliah Vega and Peter Vega,
age 12. Barely of an age to raise herself under such trying circum-
stances, Genesis became the sole caregiver to her siblings and raised
them on her own.
To add to the family's pain, New York State does not recognize orphaned
children of slain police officers in the same way it does surviving
spouses. Had Officer Familia been married, her spouse would have
received her accidental death benefit for life. Because she was a single
mother raising three children, her accidental death benefit terminates
for each child when they reach the age of 18 or 23 if they are a
student.
This legislation would guarantee a child or children of a worker in a
qualified profession who has died in the line of duty, can claim the
special accidental death benefits for the duration of their lifetime if
there is no surviving spouse to claim such benefits.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2024: S9666 Rivera / No same as
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Effective immediately.