Introduced Version
Senate Bill 93 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
Senate Bill No. 93
(By Senators Oliverio, Dempsey, Barnes, Yoder and Sharpe)
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[Introduced February 9, 2005; referred to the Committee
on Pensions; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §15-2A-9 and §15-2A-12
of the Code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to the State
Police Retirement System; and enhancing benefits for
service-related disability or death of members.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §15-2A-9 and §15-2A-12
of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2A. WEST VIRGINIA STATE POLICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§15-2A-9. Awards and benefits for disability -- Incurred in
performance of duty.
(a) Any member of the Division who has been or shall become
physically or mentally permanently disabled by injury, illness or
disease resulting from any occupational risk or hazard inherent in
or peculiar to the services required of members of the Division and
incurred pursuant to or while the member was or shall be is engaged in the performance of his or her duties as a member of the Division
shall, if, in the opinion of the retirement board, he or she is by
reason of such cause unable to perform adequately the duties
required of him or her as a member of the Division, but is able to
engage in other gainful employment be retired from active service
by the board. The member shall thereafter be entitled to receive
annually and there shall be paid to the member from the fund in
equal monthly installments during the lifetime of the member or
until the member attains the age of fifty-five or until such the
disability shall sooner terminate, one or the other of two amounts,
whichever is greater:
(1) An amount equal to six tenths of the base salary received
in the preceding twelve-month employment period: Provided, That if
the member had not been employed with the Division for twelve
months prior to the disability, the amount of monthly salary shall
be annualized for the purpose of determining the benefit; or
(2) The sum of six thousand dollars.
Upon attaining age fifty-five, the member shall receive the
benefit provided for in section six of this article as it would
apply to his or her final average salary based on earnings from the
division through the day immediately preceding his or her
disability. The recalculation of benefit upon a member attaining
age fifty-five shall be deemed to be a retirement under the
provisions of section six of this article, for purposes of determining the amount of annual annuity adjustment and for all
other purposes of this article.
(b) If any member shall become permanently physically or
mentally disabled by injury, illness or disease resulting from any
occupational risk or hazard inherent in or peculiar to the services
required of members of the Division and incurred pursuant to or
while such the member was or shall be is engaged in the performance
of his or her duties as a member of the Division to the extent that
the member is or shall be incapacitated ever to engage in any
gainful employment, the member shall be is entitled to receive
annually, and there shall be paid to such the member from the fund
in equal monthly installments during the lifetime of the member or
until such the disability shall sooner terminate, an amount equal
to the amount of the base salary received by the member in the
preceding twelve-month employment period.
(c) For any service-related disability under subsection (a) or
(b) of this section, there shall be provided annually during the
lifetime of the member a cost-of-living adjustment equal to three
percent of the member's base salary in the twelve-month employment
period preceding his or her disability. Provision of this
cost-of-living adjustment is made retroactive to the effective date
of this article.
(d) The Superintendent of the Division is authorized to expend
moneys from funds appropriated for the Division in payment of medical, surgical, laboratory, X ray, hospital, ambulance and
dental expenses and fees, and reasonable costs and expenses
incurred in the purchase of artificial limbs and other approved
appliances which may be reasonably necessary for any member of the
Division who has or shall become temporarily, permanently or
totally disabled by injury, illness or disease resulting from any
occupational risk or hazard inherent in or peculiar to the service
required of members of the Division and incurred pursuant to or
while the member was or shall be is engaged in the performance of
duties as a member of the Division. Whenever the Superintendent
shall determine that any disabled member is ineligible to receive
any of the aforesaid benefits at public expense, the superintendent
shall, at the request of the disabled member, refer such the matter
to the board for hearing and final decision.
§15-2A-12. Awards and benefits to dependents of member - When
member dies in performance of duty, etc.; dependent child
scholarship and amount.
The surviving spouse, the dependent child or children or
dependent parent or parents of any member who has lost or loses his
or her life by reason of injury, illness or disease resulting from
an occupational risk or hazard inherent in or peculiar to the
service required of members while the member was or is engaged in
the performance of his or her duties as a member of the Division,
or the survivor of a member who dies from any cause after having been retired pursuant to the provisions of section nine of this
article, shall be is entitled to receive and shall be is paid from
the fund benefits as follows: To the surviving spouse annually, in
equal monthly installments during his or her lifetime, one or the
other of two amounts, which shall become immediately available and
which shall be the greater of:
(1) An amount equal to nine tenths of ten times the base
salary received in the preceding twelve-month employment period by
the deceased member: Provided, That if the member had not been
employed with the Division for twelve months prior to his or her
death, the amount of monthly salary shall be is annualized for the
purpose of determining the benefit; or
(2) The sum of ten thousand dollars.
In addition thereto, the surviving spouse is entitled to
receive and there shall be paid to that person one hundred fifty
dollars monthly for each dependent child or children. If the
surviving spouse dies or if there is no surviving spouse, there
shall be paid monthly to each dependent child or children from the
fund a sum equal to one third of the surviving spouse's
entitlement. If there is no surviving spouse and no dependent
child or children, there shall be paid annually in equal monthly
installments from the fund to the dependent parents of the deceased
member during their joint lifetimes a sum equal to the amount which
a surviving spouse, without children, would have received: Provided, That when there is but one dependent parent surviving,
that parent is entitled to receive during his or her lifetime one-
half the amount which both parents, if living, would have been
entitled to receive.
Any person qualifying as a surviving dependent child under
this section is, in addition to any other benefits due under this
or other sections of this article, entitled to receive a
scholarship to be applied to the career development education of
that person. This sum, up to but not exceeding seven thousand five
hundred dollars, shall be paid from the fund to any university or
college in this State or to any trade or vocational school or other
entity in this State approved by the board, to offset the expenses
of tuition, room and board, books, fees or other costs incurred in
a course of study at any of these institutions so long as the
recipient makes application to the board on an approved form and
under any rules the board provides and maintains scholastic
eligibility as defined by the institution or the board. The board
may by appropriate rules define age requirements, physical and
mental requirements, scholastic eligibility, disbursement methods,
institutional qualifications and other requirements as necessary
and not inconsistent with this section.
Awards and benefits for a surviving spouse or dependents of a
member received under any section or any of the provisions of this
retirement system shall be in lieu of receipt of any benefits for these persons under the provisions of any other state retirement
system. Receipt of benefits under any other state retirement
system shall be in lieu of any right to receive any benefits under
this retirement system, so that only a single receipt of state
retirement benefits shall occur.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide a 3% COLA under
the State Police Retirement System (Plan B), eliminate the
provision that disabled members convert to regular retirement upon
attaining age 55 and to increase the benefit for service related
death.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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