(1)
State administration of a newly adopted defined contribution volunteer
firefighter service award program shall not be effective until the sponsor and
the administrator deliver to each other duly executed originals of an adoption
or transfer agreement setting forth the obligations of the sponsor and the
locally-determined features of the defined contribution volunteer firefighter
service award program.
(2) No
transfer to the State of responsibility for administration of a defined
contribution volunteer firefighter service award program shall be effective
until:
(i) the sponsor and the administrator
deliver to each other duly executed originals of an adoption or transfer
agreement setting forth the obligations of the sponsor and the locally-
determined features of the defined contribution volunteer firefighter service
award program; and
(ii) the sponsor
pays in full to the administrator the cash value of all program assets plus any
additional amount determined by the administrator to be necessary to fully
finance all existing obligations of such program, up to and including
contributions for credit for years of firefighting service performed during the
calendar year immediately preceding the year in which State administration
commences and any unpaid prior service costs payable in a lump sum pursuant to
section
154.7(a)
of this Part. Such payment shall be made in cash or cash equivalents acceptable
to the administrator, and the administrator shall not be obligated to accept an
insurance contract, a security, or any other asset that is not cash or a cash
equivalent. Such payment shall be made at the time that the adoption or
transfer agreement is submitted to the administrator pursuant to subdivision
(c) of this section.
(3)
An adoption or transfer agreement shall include, but shall not be limited to,
the following provisions:
(i) an original or
copy of the notice of adoption or transfer submitted by the sponsor pursuant to
section
154.3
of this Part, together with a warranty by the sponsor of the accuracy and
completeness of the information set forth in such notice and an express
agreement by the sponsor to submit promptly to the administrator such
additional information as may be necessary to make the records of the defined
contribution volunteer firefighter service award program accurate and
complete;
(ii) an express agreement
by the sponsor to pay to the administrator on time and in full all required
annual contributions, fees, charges, or assessments determined by the
administrator;
(iii) in the case of
a defined contribution volunteer firefighter service award program being
transferred from local administration to State administration, a statement of
the payment to be made to the administrator by the sponsor for the purpose of
fully financing the obligations of the defined contribution volunteer
firefighter service award program, together with an express agreement by the
sponsor to make such payment to the administrator at the time that the adoption
or transfer agreement is submitted to the administrator pursuant to subdivision
(c) of this section, and an express agreement by the sponsor to turn over to
the administrator in a timely manner such records as the administrator deems
necessary to effectuate such transfer;
(iv) an express agreement by the sponsor:
(a) that the Comptroller shall have the
authority to suspend or terminate State administration of a defined
contribution volunteer firefighter service award program at any time the
Comptroller determines that the sponsor has failed, for more than 30 days
beyond the due date, to make any required payment or to satisfy any other
material obligation of the adoption or transfer agreement;
(b) that the Comptroller may elect, at his or
her sole option, to collect any required payment or other material obligation
owed by the sponsor by delivering to the sponsor a duly executed order
specifying the overdue amount and requiring the sponsor to pay such amount from
any funds available therefor;
(c)
that the Comptroller may elect, at his or her sole option, to collect any
required payment or other material obligation owed by the sponsor by
intercepting the requisite amount from any State aid payment or other amount
otherwise due to the sponsor from the State and applying the same to satisfy
the overdue obligation; and
(d)
that, notwithstanding such suspension or termination, the sponsor shall
continue to be obligated to make all required payments and to satisfy all other
material obligations of the adoption or transfer agreement;
(v) a statement that the sponsor
agrees to abide by the provisions of article 11-A of the General Municipal Law,
the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder and the program document, as
amended from time to time. The adoption or transfer agreement shall be
completed by incorporating the following locally-determined features of the
State-administered defined contribution volunteer firefighter service award
program:
(a) entitlement age;
(b) the number of years of volunteer
firefighter service required for a participant to obtain a nonforfeitable right
to a service award;
(c) the amount
to be contributed to the program by the sponsor on behalf of each participant
who is credited with a year of firefighting service;
(d) whether the sponsor shall make prior
service contributions and, if so, the number of years for which such
contributions shall be made and, if such prior service contributions have not
been fully paid prior to commencement of State administration, an irrevocable
election to pay prior service contributions in the form of a single lump sum
payment or in annual installments as provided in section
154.7
of this Part;
(e) the amount of any
optional additional line of duty disability or death benefit;
(f) the date as of which the newly adopted
State-administered defined contribution volunteer firefighter service award
program shall take effect;
(g) if
the State-administered defined contribution volunteer firefighter service award
program is to take effect on a day other than the first day of January, a
statement setting forth whether points toward a year of firefighting service
shall be granted for activities performed between the immediately preceding
first day of January and the effective date of the State-administered defined
contribution volunteer firefighter service award program; and
(vi) a certification that, prior
to the approval of a resolution by a governing board and the approval of a
proposition by voters authorizing the transfer of a locally-administered
defined contribution volunteer firefighter service award program to State
administration, the sponsor fully disclosed to each participant in the
locally-administered program the estimated effects of such transfer on the
value of such participant's defined contribution account, including, but not
limited to, any investment losses incurred during local administration, any
investment losses anticipated as a result of trading or liquidating program
assets in order to acquire assets acceptable to the State program
administrator, and any fees and expenses incident to the transfer;
and
(vii) such other provisions as
the Comptroller may deem necessary and advisable to assure the proper financing
and management of the State-administered defined contribution volunteer
firefighter service award program.