H. B. 3073
(By Delegate Warner)
[Introduced February 19, 2003; referred to the
Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact sections five and seven, article
fourteen-d, chapter seven of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the
deputy sheriffs retirement plan; allowing certain law-
enforcement employees of the division of protective services
to become members of the deputy sheriffs retirement system;
setting forth contribution dates; transfer between retirement
systems; repurchase of withdrawn time; and specifying
effective date.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections five and seven, article fourteen-d, chapter
seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 14D. DEPUTY SHERIFF RETIREMENT SYSTEM ACT.
§7-14D-5. Members.
(a) Any deputy sheriff first employed by a county in covered
employment after the effective date of this article shall be a
member of this retirement system and plan and does not qualify for
membership in any other retirement system administered by the
board, so long as he or she remains employed in covered employment.
(b) Any deputy sheriff employed in covered employment on the
effective date of this article shall within six months of that
effective date notify in writing both the county commission in the
county in which he or she is employed and the board of his or her
desire to become a member of the plan:
Provided, That this time
period is extended to the thirtieth day of January, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-nine, in accordance with the decision of the
supreme court of appeals in
West Virginia Deputy Sheriffs'
Association, et al v. James L. Sims, et al, No. 25212:
Provided,
however, That any deputy sheriff employed in covered employment on
the effective date of this article has an additional time period
consisting of the ten-day period following the day after which the
amended provisions of this section become law to notify in writing
both the county commission in the county in which he or she is
employed and the board of his or her desire to become a member of
the plan. Any deputy sheriff who elects to become a member of the
plan ceases to be a member or have any credit for covered
employment in any other retirement system administered by the board and shall continue to be ineligible for membership in any other
retirement system administered by the board so long as the deputy
sheriff remains employed in covered employment in this plan:
Provided further, That any deputy sheriff who elects during the
time period from the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-eight, to the thirtieth day of January, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-nine, or who so elects during the ten-day time
period occurring immediately following the day after the day the
amendments made during the one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine
legislative session become law, to transfer from the public
employees retirement system to the plan created in this article
shall contribute to the plan created in this article at the rate
set forth in section seven of this article retroactive to the first
day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight. Any deputy
sheriff who does not affirmatively elect to become a member of the
plan continues to be eligible for any other retirement system as is
from time to time offered to other county employees but is
ineligible for this plan regardless of any subsequent termination
of employment and rehire.
(c) Any deputy sheriff who was employed as a deputy sheriff
prior to the effective date, but was not employed on the effective
date of this article, shall become a member upon rehire as a deputy
sheriff. For purposes of this section, the member's years of
service and credited service prior to the effective date shall not be counted for any purposes under this plan unless: (1) The deputy
sheriff has not received the return of his or her accumulated
contributions in the public employees retirement fund system
pursuant to section thirty, article ten, chapter five of this code;
or (2) the accumulated contributions returned to the member from
the public employees retirement system have been repaid pursuant to
section twelve of this article. If the conditions of subdivision
(1) or (2) of this subsection are met, all years of the deputy
sheriff's covered employment shall be counted as years of service
for the purposes of this article. Each transferring deputy sheriff
shall be given credited service for the purposes of this article
for all covered employment transferred from the public employees
retirement system regardless of whether such credited service (as
that term is defined in section two, article ten, chapter five of
this code) was earned as a deputy sheriff. All service in the
public employees retirement system accrued by a transferring deputy
sheriff shall be transferred into the plan created by this article
and the transferring deputy sheriff shall be given the same credit
for the purposes of this article for all such covered service which
is transferred from the public employees retirement system as that
transferring deputy sheriff would have received from the public
employees retirement system if such transfer had not occurred. In
connection with each deputy sheriff receiving credit for prior
employment provided in this subsection, a transfer from public employees retirement system to this plan shall be made pursuant to
the procedures described in section eight of this article.
(d) Once made, the election made under this section is
irrevocable. All deputy sheriffs first employed after the
effective date and deputy sheriffs electing to become members as
described in this section shall be members as a condition of
employment and shall make the contributions required by section
seven of this article.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, any
individual who is a leased employee shall not be eligible to
participate in the plan. For purposes of this plan, a "leased
employee" means any individual who performs services as an
independent contractor or pursuant to an agreement with an employee
leasing organization or similar organization. If a question arises
regarding the status of an individual as a leased employee, the
board has final power to decide the question.
(f) On and after the first day of July, two thousand three,
any certified police officer who is not drawing a retirement
benefit from a West Virginia municipal policeman's retirement fund
created pursuant to article twenty-two, chapter eight of this code,
from the West Virginia deputy sheriffs retirement system created
pursuant to article fourteen-d, chapter seven of this code, the
division of public safety death, disability and retirement fund
created in article two, chapter fifteen of this code, or the West Virginia state police retirement system created in article two-a,
chapter fifteen of this code, or who is not vested in and eligible
to draw a retirement from any of the foregoing pension and
retirement plans, who is employed by the division of protective
services or who becomes employed by the division of protective
services created in article two-d, chapter fifteen of this code,
may become a member of the retirement system established in this
article. Any member employed as a certified police officer for the
division of protective services may transfer up to five years
service credit from the public employees retirement system:
Provided, That the member contribution account and the employer
contribution account for such member shall be transferred. Any
member employed as a certified police officer for the division of
public services may repurchase up to five years of service credit
previously withdrawn from the retirement system created in this
article by repaying amounts withdrawn plus interest as set by the
board.
§7-14D-7. Members' contributions; employer contributions.
There shall be deducted from the monthly salary of each member
and paid into the fund an amount equal to eight and one-half
percent of his or her monthly salary. Any active member who has
concurrent employment in an additional job or jobs and such
additional employment requires the deputy sheriff or other member
to be a member of another retirement system which is administered by the consolidated public retirement board pursuant to article
ten-d, chapter five of this code shall contribute to the fund the
sum of eight and one-half percent of his or her monthly salary
earned as a deputy sheriff or as a law enforcement member of the
division of protective services as well as the sum of eight and
one-half percent of his or her monthly salary earned from any
additional employment which additional employment requires the
deputy sheriff to be a member of another retirement which is
administered by the consolidated public retirement board pursuant
to article ten-d, chapter five of this code. An additional nine
ten and one-half percent of the monthly salary of each member shall
be paid to the fund by the county commission of the county in which
the member is employed in covered employment. For each active
member employed by the division of protective services in a law
enforcement capacity, the division of protective services shall pay
twelve and one-half percent of the monthly salary of each member to
the fund. If the board finds that the benefits provided by this
article can be actually funded with a lesser contribution, then the
board shall reduce the required member and employer contributions
proportionally. If the board finds the benefits provided by this
article cannot be actuarially funded at the current level of
contribution, the board may increase the contribution required of
members and employees; Provided, That in no event may active
members' contributions be increased beyond ten percent of his or her monthly salary.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow law enforcement
officers employed by the Division of Protective Services, who are
not retired from other state retirement plans, or who are not
vested and eligible to retire from other state retirement plans, to
become a member of the deputy sheriff's retirement system. The
bill further provides that the Division of Protective Services
shall contribute 12.5% of the salary of those officers who are
members of DSRS.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underlining indicates new language that would
be added.
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