H. B. 2839
(By Delegates Kominar, White and Moore)
[Introduced January 9, 2008; referred to the
Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §51-9-4 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to judges and justices generally;
providing that a judge becoming eligible for retirement is not
required to contribute to the retirement system; and
clarifying that, for judicial retirement purposes, credited
service includes certain time served as an elected or
appointed municipal judge.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §51-9-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 9. RETIREMENT SYSTEM FOR JUDGES OR COURTS OF RECORD.
§51-9-4. Required percentage contributions from salaries; any
termination of required contributions prior to actual
retirement disallowed; leased employees; military
service credit; maximum allowable and qualified military service; qualifiable prosecutorial service.
(a)
Every A person who is now serving or shall hereafter serve
as a judge of any court of record of this state shall pay into the
Judges' Retirement Fund six percent of the salary received by
such
the person out of the State Treasury.
Provided, That When a judge
becomes eligible to receive benefits from
such the trust fund,
by
actual retirement no further payment by him or her shall be
required.
since such employee contribution, in an equal treatment
sense, ceases to be required in the other retirement systems of the
state, also, only after actual retirement: Provided, however, That
On and after the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-five, every person who is then serving or shall thereafter
serve as a judge of any court of record in this state shall pay
into the Judges' Retirement Fund nine percent of the salary
received by that person.
Provided further, That Consistent with
the salary increase granted to judges of courts of record during
the two thousand five regular legislative session and to changes
effectuated in judicial retirement by provisions enacted during the
third extraordinary legislative session of two thousand five, on
and after the first day of July, two thousand five, every person
who is then serving or shall thereafter serve as a judge of any
court of record in this state shall pay into the Judges' Retirement
Fund ten and one-half percent of the salary received by that
person. Any prior occurrence or practice to the contrary, in any way allowing discontinuance of required employee contributions
prior to actual
eligibility for retirement under this retirement
system, is rejected as erroneous and contrary to legislative intent
and as violative of required equal treatment and is hereby
nullified and discontinued fully, with the State Auditor to require
such contribution in every instance hereafter, except where no
contributions are required to be made under any of the provisions
of this article.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this
chapter, a judge or justice holding office on the thirty-first day
of December, one thousand nine hundred eighty-six, and who has
served more than twelve full years as a judge or justice and who
subsequently becomes eligible to receive benefits from the trust
fund because of accumulation of twenty-four years of credited
service, which service includes twelve full years of actual service
as a judge or justice, or properly accredited military time and
credited service as defined in this section, then that judge or
justice may not be required to make further contributions to the
trust fund.
(b) An individual who is a leased employee shall not be
eligible to participate in the system. For purposes of this
system, a "leased employee" means any individual who performs
services as an independent contractor or pursuant to an agreement
with an employee leasing organization or other similar
organization. If a question arises regarding the status of an individual as a leased employee, the board has the final power to
decide the question.
(c) In drawing warrants for the salary checks of judges, the
State Auditor shall deduct from the amount of each such salary
check six percent thereof, which amount so deducted shall be
credited by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board to the trust
fund:
Provided, That on or after the first day of January, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-five, the amount so deducted and
credited shall be nine percent of each such salary check:
Provided, however, That consistent with the salary increase granted
to judges of courts of record during the two thousand five regular
legislative session and to changes effectuated in judicial
retirement by provisions enacted during the third extraordinary
legislative session of two thousand five, on or after the first day
of July, two thousand five, the amount so deducted and credited
shall be ten and one-half percent of each such salary check.
(d) Any judge seeking to qualify military service to be
claimed as credited service, in allowable aggregate maximum amount
up to five years, shall be entitled to be awarded the same without
any required payment in respect thereof to the Judges' Retirement
Fund.
(e) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this section,
contributions, benefits and service credit with respect to
qualified military service shall be provided in accordance with Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code. For purposes of this
section, "qualified military service" has the same meaning as in
Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code. The retirement board
is authorized to determine all questions and make all decisions
relating to this section and may promulgate rules relating to
contributions, benefits and service credit pursuant to the
authority granted to the retirement board in section one, article
ten-d, chapter five of this code to comply with Section 414(u) of
the Internal Revenue Code.
(f) Any judge holding office as such on the effective date of
the amendments to this article adopted by the Legislature at its
regular session in the year one thousand nine hundred eighty-seven
who seeks to qualify service as a prosecuting attorney as credited
service, which service credit must have been earned prior to the
year one thousand nine hundred eighty-seven, shall be required to
pay into the Judges' Retirement Fund nine percent of the annual
salary which was actually received by such person as prosecuting
attorney during the time such prosecutorial service was rendered
prior to the year one thousand nine hundred eighty-seven and for
which credited service is being sought, together with applicable
interest.
For the purposes of this section, credited service
includes time served as an elected or appointed municipal judge.
No judge whose term of office shall commence after the effective
date of such amendments to this article shall be eligible to claim any credit for service rendered as a prosecuting attorney as
eligible service for retirement benefits under this article, nor
shall any time served as a prosecutor after the year one thousand
nine hundred eighty-eight, be considered as eligible service for
any purposes of this article. No judge whose term of office shall
commence after the effective date of such amendments to this
article shall be eligible to claim any credit for service rendered
as a prosecuting attorney as eligible service for retirement
benefits under this article, nor shall any time served as a
prosecutor after the year one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight be
considered as eligible service for any purposes of this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide a judge becoming
eligible for retirement is not required to contribute to the
retirement system; and clarifying that, for judicial retirement
purposes, credited service includes certain time served as an
elected or appointed municipal judge.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.