1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to retirement; general employees retirement 
  1.3             plan of the public employees retirement association; 
  1.4             including the St. Paul port authority in retirement 
  1.5             coverage; authorizing purchases of prior service 
  1.6             credit; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 
  1.7             353.01, subdivisions 2d, 6. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 353.01, 
  1.10  subdivision 2d, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 2d.  [OPTIONAL MEMBERSHIP.] (a) Membership in the 
  1.12  association is optional by action of the individual employee for 
  1.13  the following public employees who meet the conditions set forth 
  1.14  in subdivision 2a: 
  1.15     (1) members of the coordinated plan who are also employees 
  1.16  of labor organizations as defined in section 353.017, 
  1.17  subdivision 1, for their employment by the labor organization 
  1.18  only if they elect to have membership under section 353.017, 
  1.19  subdivision 2; 
  1.20     (2) persons who are elected or persons who are appointed to 
  1.21  elected positions other than local governing body elected 
  1.22  positions who elect to participate by filing a written election 
  1.23  for membership; 
  1.24     (3) members of the association who are appointed by the 
  1.25  governor to be a state department head and who elect not to be 
  1.26  covered by the general state employees retirement plan of the 
  2.1   Minnesota state retirement system under section 352.021; and 
  2.2      (4) city managers as defined in section 353.028, 
  2.3   subdivision 1, who do not elect to be excluded from membership 
  2.4   in the association under section 353.028, subdivision 2; and 
  2.5      (5) employees of the port authority of the city of St. Paul 
  2.6   who were at least age 45 on January 1, 2003, and who elect to 
  2.7   participate by filing a written election for membership. 
  2.8      (b) Membership in the association is optional by action of 
  2.9   the governmental subdivision for the employees of the following 
  2.10  governmental subdivisions under the conditions specified: 
  2.11     (1) the Minnesota association of townships if the board of 
  2.12  the association, at its option, certifies to the executive 
  2.13  director that its employees are to be included for purposes of 
  2.14  retirement coverage, in which case the status of the association 
  2.15  as a participating employer is permanent; and 
  2.16     (2) a county historical society if the county in which the 
  2.17  historical society is located, at its option, certifies to the 
  2.18  executive director that the employees of the historical society 
  2.19  are to be county employees for purposes of retirement coverage 
  2.20  under this chapter.  The status as a county employee must be 
  2.21  accorded to all similarly situated county historical society 
  2.22  employees and, once established, must continue as long as a 
  2.23  person is an employee of the county historical society. 
  2.24     (c) For employees who are covered by paragraph (a), clause 
  2.25  (1), (2), or (3), or covered by paragraph (b), if the necessary 
  2.26  membership election is not made, the employee is excluded from 
  2.27  retirement coverage under this chapter.  For employees who are 
  2.28  covered by paragraph (a), clause (4), if the necessary election 
  2.29  is not made, the employee must become a member and have 
  2.30  retirement coverage under this chapter.  The option to become a 
  2.31  member, once exercised under this subdivision, may not be 
  2.32  withdrawn until termination of public service as defined under 
  2.33  subdivision 11a. 
  2.34     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 353.01, 
  2.35  subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  2.36     Subd. 6.  [GOVERNMENTAL SUBDIVISION.] (a) "Governmental 
  3.1   subdivision" means a county, city, town, school district within 
  3.2   this state, or a department or unit of state government, or any 
  3.3   public body whose revenues are derived from taxation, fees, 
  3.4   assessments or from other sources. 
  3.5      (b) Governmental subdivision also means the public 
  3.6   employees retirement association, the league of Minnesota 
  3.7   cities, the association of metropolitan municipalities, public 
  3.8   hospitals owned or operated by, or an integral part of, a 
  3.9   governmental subdivision or governmental subdivisions, the 
  3.10  association of Minnesota counties, the metropolitan intercounty 
  3.11  association, the Minnesota municipal utilities association, the 
  3.12  metropolitan airports commission, the Minneapolis employees 
  3.13  retirement fund for employment initially commenced after June 
  3.14  30, 1979, the range association of municipalities and schools, 
  3.15  soil and water conservation districts, economic development 
  3.16  authorities created or operating under sections 469.090 to 
  3.17  469.108, the port authority of the city of St. Paul, the Spring 
  3.18  Lake Park fire department, incorporated, and the Dakota county 
  3.19  agricultural society. 
  3.20     (c) Governmental subdivision does not mean any municipal 
  3.21  housing and redevelopment authority organized under the 
  3.22  provisions of sections 469.001 to 469.047; or any port authority 
  3.23  organized under sections 469.048 to 469.089 other than the port 
  3.24  authority of the city of St. Paul; or any hospital district 
  3.25  organized or reorganized prior to July 1, 1975, under sections 
  3.26  447.31 to 447.37 or the successor of the district, nor the 
  3.27  Minneapolis community development agency.  
  3.28     Sec. 3.  [PERA-GENERAL; PRIOR ST. PAUL PORT AUTHORITY 
  3.29  SERVICE CREDIT PURCHASE.] 
  3.30     Subdivision 1.  [ELIGIBILITY.] A full-time salaried 
  3.31  employee or a permanent part-time salaried employee of the port 
  3.32  authority of the city of St. Paul who was employed by the port 
  3.33  authority during all or part of the period from July 1, 1993, to 
  3.34  July 1, 2003, and who is a member of the general employees 
  3.35  retirement plan of the public employees retirement association 
  3.36  may purchase allowable service credit from the general employees 
  4.1   retirement plan. 
  4.2      Subd. 2.  [PURCHASABLE SERVICE; MAXIMUM.] (a) The service 
  4.3   credit that is purchasable under subdivision 1 is a period or 
  4.4   periods of employment by the port authority of the city of St. 
  4.5   Paul that would have been eligible service for coverage by the 
  4.6   general employees retirement plan of the public employees 
  4.7   retirement association if the service had been rendered after 
  4.8   July 1, 2003. 
  4.9      (b) The maximum period of allowable service credit in the 
  4.10  general employees retirement plan of the public employees 
  4.11  retirement association for purchase under this section is ten 
  4.12  years. 
  4.13     Subd. 3.  [PURCHASE PAYMENT REQUIREMENT.] (a) To purchase 
  4.14  the service credit, the payment amount must be calculated under 
  4.15  Minnesota Statutes, section 356.55. 
  4.16     (b) Notwithstanding any provision of Minnesota Statutes, 
  4.17  section 356.55, to the contrary, the prior service credit 
  4.18  purchase payment may be made in whole or in part on an 
  4.19  institution-to-institution basis from a plan qualified under the 
  4.20  federal Internal Revenue Code, sections 401(a), 401(k), or 
  4.21  414(h), or from an annuity qualified under the federal Internal 
  4.22  Revenue Code, section 403, or from a deferred compensation plan 
  4.23  under the federal Internal Revenue Code, section 457, to the 
  4.24  extent permitted by the applicable federal law.  In no event may 
  4.25  a prior service credit purchase transfer be paid directly to the 
  4.26  person purchasing the service. 
  4.27     Subd. 4.  [DOCUMENTATION; SERVICE CREDIT GRANT.] (a) An 
  4.28  eligible person described in subdivision 1 must provide any 
  4.29  documentation related to eligibility to make this service credit 
  4.30  purchase required by the executive director of the public 
  4.31  employees retirement association. 
  4.32     (b) Allowable service credit for the purchase period or 
  4.33  periods must be granted by the general employees retirement plan 
  4.34  of the public employees retirement association on behalf of the 
  4.35  eligible person upon receipt of the prior service credit 
  4.36  purchase payment amount. 
  5.1      Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.2      (a) Sections 1, 2, and 3 are effective on the day following 
  5.3   final enactment. 
  5.4      (b) Coverage by the general employees retirement plan of 
  5.5   the public employees retirement association under sections 1 and 
  5.6   2 commence on July 1, 2003.