Hochul signs bills to boost NYS support for 9/11 victims, first responders

ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday signed a package of bills aimed at increasing support for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as well as first responders and members of New York’s National Guard.

The measures include extending death and disability benefits for National Guard members and their beneficiaries and lengthening the eligibility period for certain retirement benefits for injuries and illnesses related to the rescue, recovery and cleanup efforts at the World Trade Center. Another law extends the deadline to submit documentation to the state retirement systems and the state Workers Compensation Board.

“None of us will ever forget the horrific attacks on our state and nation on that day in 2001 — nor will we ever forget the unflinching bravery and sacrifice of civilians and first responders whose lives were devastated,” Hochul said in a news release announcing the bill signing. “As we mark the 25th anniversary of the events at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania, we sign these three laws to support and honor those whose lives were transformed on that terrible day.”

One bill extends the deadline for individuals who took part in the rescue, recovery and cleanup at Ground Zero to file documentation to the state retirement system through Sept. 11, 2030. It also extends the deadline for individuals to file documentation of their involvement to the state Workers Compensation Board through Sept. 11, 2030, preserving their right to file a future claim for benefits related to injuries or illnesses caused by their participation. The board, under the new law, also must reconsider any worker claims filed between Sept. 11, 2021, and Sept. 11, 2025, which had been disallowed due to the deadline.

State National Guard members and their beneficiaries will now have through Sept. 11, 2030, to submit claims for World Trade Center death and disability benefits under another bill Hochul signed Thursday.

A third bill signed into law extends the 25-year presumptive eligibility period for certain retirement benefits related to 9/11-linked injuries or illnesses. The measure also extends provisions allowing the deaths of certain retirees to be qualified as accidental deaths associated with the World Trade Center attacks. It applies to retirees who die after more than 25 years of retirement with a maximum of 35 years of retirement.

Labor leaders and first responder groups lauded the bills' passage.

“We have long known that WTC-related illnesses, cancers, respiratory disease, and other conditions do not follow a calendar. They can emerge decades after exposure,” New York State Professional Fire Fighters Association president Sam Fresina said in a news release. “This extension is a direct response to what our doctors, our union locals and our families have been telling Albany for years: the WTC health crisis is ongoing, and our laws must reflect that.”