WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

2023 REGULAR SESSION

House Bill 3211

By Delegates Storch, Anderson, Kump, Reynolds, Ferrell, Hite, C. Pritt, Marple, Hornbuckle, E. Pritt, and Fluharty

[Introduced February 02, 2023; Referred to the Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §8-22-6a, relating to authorizing service credit for unused accrued annual or sick leave days for use in determining retirement benefits from the municipal police and firefighter retirement systems still administered by municipalities.

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.

§8-22-6a. Retirement credited service through member’s use, as option, of accrued annual or sick leave days.

Any member accruing annual leave or sick leave days may, after the effective date of this section, elect to use the days at the time of retirement to acquire additional credited service in this retirement system. The days shall be applied on the basis of two workdays’ credit granted for each one day of accrued annual or sick leave days, with each month of retirement service credit to equal 20 workdays and with any remainder of 10 workdays or more to constitute a full month of additional credit and any remainder of less than 10 workdays to be dropped and not used, notwithstanding any provisions of this code to the contrary. The credited service shall be allowed and not considered to controvert the requirement of no more than 12 months’ credited service in any year’s period.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide optional retirement service credit for municipal police and firefighters via accrued annual or sick leave days.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.