
Senate Bill No. 212
(By Senators Craigo, McKenzie, Oliverio, Bowman, Chafin,
Sprouse, Love, Fanning, Anderson, Wooton, Edgell, Kessler,
Redd, Facemyer, Minear, Mitchell, Rowe, McCabe, Prezioso,
Helmick, Minard, Unger, Snyder, Caldwell, Ross Sharpe,
Tomblin, Mr. President and Hunter)
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[Introduced January 15, 2002; referred to the Committee



on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]




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A BILL to amend and reenact section three, article seven-a,
chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and
reenact section two, article seven-b of said chapter, all
relating to permitting job-sharing teachers to participate
in teacher retirement systems.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That section three, article seven-a, chapter eighteen of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; and that section two, article
seven-b of said chapter be amended and reenacted, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 7A. STATE TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§18-7A-3. Definitions.

(1) "Teacher member" means the following persons, if
regularly employed for a full-time service position: (a) Any
person employed for instructional service in the public schools
of West Virginia; (b) principals; (c) public school librarians;
(d) superintendents of schools and assistant county
superintendents of schools; (e) any county school attendance
director holding a West Virginia teacher's certificate; (f) the
executive secretary of the retirement board; (g) members of the
research, extension, administrative or library staffs of the
public schools; (h) the state superintendent of schools, heads
and assistant heads of the divisions under his or her
supervision, or any other employee thereunder under the state
superintendent performing services of an educational nature; (i)
employees of the state board of education who are performing
services of an educational nature; (j) any person employed in a
nonteaching capacity by the state board of education, the West
Virginia board of regents [abolished] the West Virginia higher
education governing board, any county board of education, the
state department of education or the teachers retirement board,
if such the person was formerly employed as a teacher in the
public schools; (k) all classroom teachers, principals and educational administrators in schools under the supervision of
the
department division of corrections, the division of health
or the division of human services; and (l)
employees any
employee of the state board of school finance, if
such the
person was formerly employed as a teacher in the public schools.

(2) "Nonteaching member" means any person, except a teacher
member, who is regularly employed for a full-time service
position by: (a) Any county board of education; (b) the state
board of education; (c) the West Virginia board of regents
[abolished] the West Virginia higher education governing board;
or (d) the teachers retirement board.

(3) "Members of the administrative staff of the public
schools" means deans of instruction, deans of men, deans of
women and financial and administrative secretaries.

(4) "Members of the extension staff of the public schools"
means every agricultural agent, boys' and girls' club agent and
every member of the agricultural extension staff whose work is
not primarily stenographic, clerical or secretarial.

(5) "Retirement system" means the state teachers retirement
system provided for in this article.

(6) "Present teacher" means any person who was a teacher
within the thirty-five years beginning the first day of July,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-four, and whose membership in the retirement system is currently active.

(7) "New entrant" means a teacher who is not a present
teacher.

(8) "Regularly employed for a full-time service position"
means employment in a regular position or job throughout the
employment term, including job-sharing arrangements as provided
in article four, chapter eighteen-a of this code regardless of
the number of hours or days worked or the method of pay.

(9) "Regularly employed for a full-time service position"
means employment in a regular position or job throughout the
employment term regardless of the number of hours or days worked
or the method of pay.

(10) "Employment term" means employment for at least ten
months, a month being defined as twenty employment days.

(11) "Present member" means a present teacher who is a
member of the retirement system.

(12) "Total service" means all service as a teacher while
a member of the retirement system since last becoming a member
and, in addition thereto, credit for prior service, if any.

(13) "Prior service" means all service as a teacher
completed prior to the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred forty-one, and all service of a present member who was
employed as a teacher, and did not contribute to a retirement account because he
or she was legally ineligible for membership
during the service.

(14) "Average final salary" means the average of the five
highest fiscal year salaries earned as a member within the last
fifteen fiscal years of total service credit, including military
service as provided herein in section seventeen of this article,
or if total service is less than fifteen years, the average
annual salary for the period on which contributions were made.

(15) "Accumulated contributions" means all deposits and all
deductions from the earnable compensation of a contributor minus
the total of all supplemental fees deducted from his or her
compensation.

(16) "Regular interest" means interest at four percent
compounded annually, or a higher earnable rate if set forth in
the formula established in legislative rules, series seven of
the consolidated public retirement board.

(17) "Refund interest" means interest compounded, according
to the formula established in legislative rules, series seven of
the consolidated public retirement board.

(18) "Employer" means the agency of and within the state
which has employed or employs a member.

(19) "Contributor" means a member of the retirement system who has an account in the teachers accumulation fund.

(20) "Beneficiary" means the recipient of annuity payments
made under the retirement system.

(21) "Refund beneficiary" means the estate of a deceased
contributor, or a person as he the deceased contributor shall
have nominated as beneficiary of his the deceased's
contributions by written designation duly executed and filed
with the retirement board.

(22) "Earnable compensation" means the full compensation
actually received by members for service as teachers whether or
not a part of the compensation is received from other funds,
federal or otherwise, than those provided by the state or its
subdivisions. Allowances from employers for maintenance of
members shall be considered a part of earnable compensation for
such the members whose allowances were approved by the teachers
retirement board and contributions to the teachers retirement
system were made, in accordance therewith, on or before the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty.

(23) "Annuities" means the annual retirement payments for
life granted beneficiaries in accordance with this article.

(24) "Member" means a member of the retirement system.

(25) "Public schools" means all publicly supported schools,
including normal schools, colleges and universities in this state.
(26) "Deposit" means a voluntary payment to his
or her
account by a member.


(27) The masculine gender shall be construed so as to
include the feminine.

(27) "Plan year" means the twelve-month period commencing
on the first day of July and ending the following thirtieth day
of June of any designated year.

(28) "Internal Revenue Code" means the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 [26 USCS §§ 1 et seq.], as amended.

(29) "Required beginning date" means the first day of April
of the calendar year following the later of: (a) The calendar
year in which the member attains age seventy and one-half; or
(b) the calendar year in which the member retires or ceases
covered employment under the system.

(30) Age in excess of seventy years shall be is considered
to be seventy years.
ARTICLE 7B. TEACHERS' DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§18-7B-2. Definitions.

As used in this article, unless the context clearly requires
a different meaning:

(1) "Defined contribution system" or "system" means the
teachers' defined contribution retirement system created and
established by this article;

(2) "Existing retirement system" means the state teachers
retirement system established in article seven-a of this
chapter;

(3) "Existing employer" means any employer who employed or
employs a member of the existing retirement system;

(4) "Consolidated board" or "board" means the consolidated
public retirement board created and established pursuant to
article ten-d, chapter five of this code;

(5) "Member" or "employee" means the following persons, if
regularly employed for a full-time service position: (a) Any
person employed for instructional service in the public schools
of West Virginia; (b) principals; (c) public school librarians;
(d) superintendents of schools and assistant county
superintendents of schools; (e) any county school attendance
director holding a West Virginia teacher's certificate; (f) the
executive secretary of the retirement board; (g) members of the
research, extension, administrative or library staffs of the
public schools; (h) the state superintendent of schools, heads
and assistant heads of the divisions under his or her
supervision, or any other employee thereunder under the state
superintend of schools performing services of an educational
nature; (i) employees of the state board of education who are
performing services of an educational nature; (j) any person employed in a nonteaching capacity by the state board of
education, any county board of education, the state department
of education or the teachers retirement board, if
such the
person was formerly employed as a teacher in the public schools;
(k) all classroom teachers, principals and educational
administrators in schools under the supervision of the
department division of corrections, the department of health
and
human resources or the
department division of human services;
(l) any person who is regularly employed for
a full-time
service
position by any county board of education, the state board of
education or the teachers retirement board; and (m) the
administrative staff of the public schools including deans of
instruction, deans of men and deans of women and financial and
administrative secretaries;

(6) "Regularly employed for a full-time service position"
means employment in a regular position or job throughout the
employment term, including job-sharing arrangements as provided
in article four, chapter eighteen-a of this code regardless of
the number of hours or days worked or the method of pay;

(7) "Year of employment service" means employment for at
least ten months, a month being defined as twenty employment
days: Provided, That no more than one year of service may be
accumulated in any twelve-month period;

(8) "Employer" means the agency of and within the state
which has employed or employs a member;

(9) "Compensation" means the full compensation actually
received by members for service whether or not a part of such
the compensation is received from other funds, federal or
otherwise, than those provided by the state or its subdivisions;

(10) "Public schools" means all publicly supported schools,
including normal schools, colleges and universities in this
state;

(11) "Member contribution" means an amount reduced from the
employee's regular pay periods, and deposited into the member's
individual annuity account within the defined contribution
retirement system;

(12) "Employer contribution" means an amount deposited into
the member's individual annuity account on a periodic basis
coinciding with the employee's regular pay period by an employer
from its own funds;

(13) "Annuity account" or "annuity" means an account
established for each member to record the deposit of member
contributions and employer contributions and interest, dividends
or other accumulations credited on behalf of the member;

(14) "Retirement" means a member's withdrawal from the
active employment of a participating employer and completion of all conditions precedent to retirement;

(15) "Permanent, total disability" means a mental or
physical incapacity requiring the absence from employment
service for at least six months: Provided, That such the
incapacity is shown by an examination by a physician or
physicians selected by the board;

(16) "Plan year" means the twelve-month period commencing
on the first day of July of any designated year and ending on
the following thirtieth day of June;

(17) "Required beginning date" means the first day of April
of the calendar year following the later of: (a) The calendar
year in which the member attains age seventy one and one-half;
or (b) the calendar year in which the member retires or
otherwise ceases employment with a participating employer; and

(18) "Internal Revenue Code" means the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986, as amended.


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit teachers
employed in job-sharing positions to participate in the state
retirement systems for teachers.


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