New York Senate Bill S08148

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 5/15/25
• Refer: 5/15/25
• Refer: 1/7/26

Caption

Provides a heart disease presumption for members employed by the Triborough bridge and tunnel authority as a bridge and tunnel officer, sergeant or lieutenant in a non-managerial position.

Summary

This bill would create a new presumption in the New York retirement and social security law for certain Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA) employees. For bridge and tunnel officers, sergeants, and lieutenants in non-managerial positions, a heart disease-related impairment, disability, or death would be presumed to have been incurred in the performance of duty if the member passed a qualifying physical exam that did not reveal the condition. The presumption would also apply to certain retirees who left service within the prior five years and later develop qualifying heart disease-related disability or death. The bill also establishes enhanced pension benefits for those covered members. A qualifying retiree would receive a performance-of-duty disability pension equal to three-fourths of final average salary, and eligible retirees already retired within the past five years could have their pensions recalculated retroactively from the effective date or the onset of disability, whichever is later. The bill states that it takes effect immediately and that all past service costs are to be borne by the City of New York, rather than the authority itself.

Impact

The bill would amend the Retirement and Social Security Law by adding a new section 607-m specifically for TBTA bridge and tunnel officers, sergeants, and lieutenants in non-managerial positions. It would create a statutory heart disease presumption for disability and death claims, alter the standard for proving duty-related causation, and increase pension benefits for qualifying members from ordinary disability or death benefits to performance-of-duty benefits. It also shifts the fiscal responsibility for past service costs to the City of New York and exempts the act from the appropriation requirement in section 25 of the Retirement and Social Security Law.

Sentiment

The available context suggests generally favorable treatment of the bill, as it was introduced, amended, and recommitted without any recorded opposition in the provided materials. The fiscal note frames the proposal as a targeted benefit enhancement for a specific public-safety workforce, indicating the bill is intended to address occupational heart disease risks for TBTA officers. No committee transcript or vote record is provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate or divided sentiment in the supplied context.

Contention

The main point of contention is fiscal responsibility: the bill assigns past service costs to the City of New York, and the fiscal note highlights potentially significant long-term employer contribution increases. Another likely issue is the scope of the presumption, which is limited to certain TBTA titles and to members who passed a physical exam without evidence of heart disease, while excluding workers' compensation and labor law purposes. The fiscal note also notes uncertainty about how many active members or recent retirees would ultimately qualify, which could affect the magnitude of costs.