WEST virginia legislature
2019 regular session
Introduced
House Bill 2738
(By Delegates Pack, Graves, Hollen, Pethtel, Evans, Anderson, and Malcolm)
(By Request of the Municipal Pensions Oversight Board)
[Introduced January 30, 2019; Referred
to the Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §8-22-19 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to authorizing prepayment of certain required payments into a policemen’s pension and relief fund or a firemen’s pension and relief fund.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 22. RETIREMENT BENEFITS GENERALLY; POLICEMEN'S PENSION AND RELIEF FUND; FIREMEN'S PENSION AND RELIEF FUND; PENSION PLANS FOR EMPLOYEES OF WATERWORKS SYSTEM, SEWERAGE SYSTEM OR COMBINED WATERWORKS AND SEWERAGE SYSTEM.
§8-22-19. Levy to maintain fund.
(a)(1) In order for a municipal policemen's or firemen's
pension and relief fund to receive the allocable portion of moneys from the
Municipal Pensions and Protection Fund established in section fourteen-d,
article three, chapter thirty-three of this code and funds from the
Municipal Pensions Security Fund created in §8-22-18b of this code, the
governing body of the municipality shall levy annually and in the manner
provided by law for other municipal levies and include within the maximum levy
or levies permitted by law and, if necessary, in excess of any charter
provision, a tax at such rate as will, after crediting: (A) The amount of the
contributions received during the year from the members of the respective paid
police department or paid fire department; and (B) the allocable portion of the
Municipal Pensions and Protection Fund established in section fourteen-d,
article three, chapter thirty-three of this code and funds from the
Municipal Pensions Security Fund created in §8-22-18b of this code,
provide funds equal to the amount necessary to meet the minimum standards for
actuarial soundness as provided in §8-22-20 of this code. The amount
shall be irrevocably contributed, accumulated and invested as fund assets as
described in §8-22-21 and §8-22-22 of this code. One twelfth of each
municipality's annual contributions shall be deposited with the municipality's
pension trust funds as fund assets on at least a monthly basis and any revenues
received from any source by a municipality which are specifically collected for
the purpose of allocation for deposit into the policemen's pension and relief
fund or firemen's pension and relief fund shall be so deposited within five
days of receipt by the municipality. A municipality may prepay its monthly
required contributions in increments greater than one-twelfth. Heretofore
surplus reserves accumulated before the effective date of this section shall be
irrevocably contributed, aggregated and invested as fund assets described in §8-22-21
and §8-22-22 of this code. Any actuarial deficiency arising under this
section and §8-22-20 of this code shall not be the obligation of the
State of West Virginia.
(2) The levies authorized under the provisions of this section, or any part of them, may by the governing body be laid in addition to all other municipal levies and, to that extent, beyond the limit of levy imposed by the charter of the municipality; and the levies shall supersede and if necessary exclude levies for other purposes, where other purposes have not already attained priority, and within the limitations on taxes or tax levies imposed by the constitution and laws.
(b) The public corporations are authorized to take by gift, grant, devise or bequest any money or real or personal property on such terms as to the investment and expenditures thereof as may be fixed by the grantor or determined by the trustees.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the prepayment of required contributions by municipalities into a policemen’s pension and relief fund or a firemen’s pension and relief fund in order to receive certain funds.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.