Session Year 2003, Special Session 1

Bill Name: SF0022

E Relating to retirement, modifying certain public pension plan +
provisionsARTICLE 1 � LOCAL GOVERNMENT SALARY SAVINGS LEAVE Providing for a
voluntary hour reduction plan for certain public +employees covered by pension
plans administered by the public employees +retirement association, specifying
certain agreement requirements relating to +employee and employer contributions,
work hours and schedule and voluntary hour +reduction duration, sunset;
providing for voluntary unpaid leaves of absence +between certain dates for
public employees, authorizing local government +units to allow affected
employees to continue to accrue vacation and sick leave, +seniority and service
credit in PERA and to provide eligibility for paid holidays +and insurance
benefits, providing for the payment of employee and +employer contributions for
the accrual of service credit during the leave +period; requiring local
government units to designate the job classifications+ or positions qualifying
for the options ARTICLE 2 � STATE BOARD OF INVESTMENT CHANGES Requiring
periodic valuation of assets in the supplemental investment+ fund; restricting
the investment of Minnesota state retirement system +(MSRS) deferred
compensation shares in the fund to shares selected by the state board+ of
investment ARTICLE 3 - TEACHER EXTENDED LEAVESAuthorizing school districts under
collective bargaining agreements +to pay health insurance premiums for teachers
on limited extended leaves of +absence; requiring a report to the legislative
commission on pensions and +retirement (LCPR) by a certain date by the executive
directors of the teachers +retirement funds (TRA) summarizing the agreements
ARTICLE 4 � PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP
CHANGESProviding for election of coverage under public employees retirement
association general employees or defined contribution plans by +certain
employees of the St. Paul port authority and expanding the definition+ of
governmental subdivision under PERA to the port authority and to the +Red Wing
environmental learning center; authorizing and providing for city +managers
revocation of the election to be excluded from PERA membership, +election of
coverage to be irrevocable; providing for coverage of all Red Wing environmental
learning center employees through independent school +district #256, Red Wing
under the PERA general employees retirement plan; +providing for the purchase of
prior service credit in the PERA general plan by +certain salaried employees of
the St. Paul port authority, sunset, providing +for a one time irrevocable
election to become members of the defined +contribution plan by employees not
exercising the right to become members of the general +plan ARTICLE 5 �
PUBLIC HOSPITAL PRIVATIZATIONExpanding privatized public hospital employee
benefits under the +public employees retirement association (PERA) to employees
of the Renville+ county hospital in Olivia, specifying certain actuarial
calculations +requirements ARTICLE 6 � GENERAL SERVICE CREDIT
PURCHASESExtending the deadlines for a certain procedure for determining prior+
service credit purchase amounts and for the purchase of prior service credit +in
the teachers retirement associations by certain teachers, uncredited +military
service credit in the Minnesota state retirement system, the state +troopers
retirement plan and the public employees retirement association by +certain
members, the use of college supplemental retirement funds to purchase+ prior
service credit by certain Minnesota state colleges and universities +system
(MnSCU) employees, the purchase of prior service credit by certain +other
members of MSRS, the state troopers plan, PERA, the TRAs, the +Minneapolis
employees retirement fund (MERF) and the Minneapolis police and fire +relief
associations and the purchase of parental or family leave service +credit by
certain public employees; authorizing and providing for the purchase +of prior
service credit in the PERA general employees retirement plan by +certain current
members of the St. Louis Park city council; repealing the authority +for the
purchase of service credit for university of Minnesota teaching +service by
certain TRA and first class city TRA members after a certain date ARTICLE 7 �
SUPPLEMENTAL PENSION PLAN COVERAGEExempting plumbers and pipefitters local
pension funds from the +prohibition on state agency or local government unit
public funds contributions to supplemental pension or deferred compensation
plansARTICLE 8 � GENERAL RETIREMENT CHANGESRequiring presentment of proposed
retirement related legislation +recommended by the Minnesota state colleges and
universities system (MnSCU) to the +legislative commission on pensions and
retirement (LCPR) and certain legislative +committees for public pension
administration legislation purposesARTICLE 9 � STATEWIDE RESTRUCTERED TEACHER
RETIREMENT PLAN ACTUARIAL +STUDYRequiring the actuary retained by the
legislative commission on +pensions and retirement to prepare an actuarial
valuation report using the results+ of certain actuarial studies on the
feasibility of restructuring the +state and first class city teachers retirement
associations into a new +restructured fund, specifying certain study content
requirements; requiring the +executive directors or secretaries of the TRAs to
consult with a certain +previously established task force and provide the
actuary with information +requested for and to pay the costs of the report,
allocation requirements; +requiring filing of the report with the LCPR and the
legislature by a certain dateARTICLE 10 � LOCAL RETIREMENT PLAN
CHANGESTransferring the responsibility for approval of requests for the
+redemption of shares in the supplemental investment plan and of applications
for +withdrawal from participation in the county supplemental retirement program
by +Hennepin county employees from the county board to the county administrator;
+increasing retirement benefits payable to retired police officers,
firefighters +and surviving spouses by the Eveleth police and fire trust
fundARTICLE 11 � MINNEAPOLIS FIREFIGHTERS RELIEF ASSOCIATION CHANGESIncreasing
the salary maximum for the executive secretary of the +Minneapolis firefighters
relief association governing board; providing for refund+ after death of
contributions to the association by members without +survivors ARTICLE 12 �
VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER RELIEF ASSOCIATION CHANGESModifying the schedules for
payment of flexible service pension +maximums by volunteer firefighters relief
associations; ratifying certain service+ pension amounts paid by the White Bear
Lake fire department relief +association; authorizing the Marshall volunteer
firefighters relief association to+ pay interest on deferred lump sum payment
pensions based on a rate +determined annually by the board of trustees, limit
ARTICLE 13 � PLYMOUTH VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER RELIEF ASSOCIATION +ANCILLARY
BENEFIT CHANGESConforming the payment of ancillary benefits to certain disabled
+firefighters or surviving spouses and children by the Plymouth volunteer
+firefighters relief association to certain statutory requirements and limits
ARTICLE 14 � PRIOR SERVICE CREDIT PURCHASE PROVISIONSImposing a deadline for
the purchase of prior service credit by a +certain member of the Minneapolis
teachers retirement fund association +(MTRFA) and eliminating the requirement
for the actuary retained by the +legislative commission on pensions and
retirement (LCPR) to compute the purchase +payment amount; authorizing and
providing the purchase of prior service +credit in the teachers retirement
association (TRA) for a certain period of +sabbatical leave by a certain member
formerly employed by independent school district +#191, Burnsville-Eagan-Savage;
providing for retroactive qualified part +time teacher program coverage under
the Minneapolis TRA for the 2001-2002 school year for a certain +eligible
teacherARTICLE 15 � VARIOUS ONE PERSON AND SMALL GROUP RETIREMENT
CHANGESExtending the deadline for a certain teacher employed by the +Riverland
community college and formerly employed by independent school +districts #345,
New London-Spicer and #858, St. Charles to elect to continue +retirement
coverage under the under the teachers retirement association (TRA); +authorizing
and providing for payment of employee and employer contributions to +the Duluth
teachers retirement fund association by a certain employee of independent
+school district #709, Duluth for part time employment; providing for +survivor
benefits under the public employees police and fire plan of the public
+employees retirement association for the surviving spouse of a certain
+firefighter killed in an accident on a certain date; authorizing the payment of
+contribution refunds under the Minnesota state retirement system (MSRS) by
certain+ state employees on extended medical leaves of absence; authorizing and
+providing for an eligible former employee of Beltrami county elected to the
Bemidji+ city council to elect to apply for a retirement annuity under PERA,
+conditions (ja)