Florida Senate - 2010 CS for SB 612
By the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability;
and Senators Baker and Thrasher
585-04977-10 2010612c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to Special Risk Class retirement;
3 amending s. 121.091, F.S.; prohibiting certain members
4 of the Special Risk Class from being reemployed or
5 contracting with the same employer from which the
6 member retired; extending the period of time during
7 which certain Special Risk Class members may
8 participate in the Florida Retirement System Deferred
9 Retirement Option Program; providing legislative
10 findings with respect to the state’s interest in
11 protecting the public’s safety and welfare by
12 extending retirement benefits for officers and funding
13 increased retirement benefits in an actuarially sound
14 manner; providing an effective date.
15
16 WHEREAS, one of the most fundamental mechanisms for
17 ensuring the safety and welfare of the public is through the
18 state’s law enforcement agencies and correctional institutions,
19 and
20 WHEREAS, law enforcement agencies and correctional
21 institutions throughout this state and the nation are
22 experiencing great difficulty in recruiting and retaining well
23 qualified law enforcement and correctional officers, and
24 WHEREAS, this need is projected to become more critical in
25 the future, and
26 WHEREAS, the most critical need is to recruit and retain
27 line officers who have daily and direct contact with the
28 criminal element, and
29 WHEREAS, because such work is physically demanding or
30 arduous and often requires extraordinary agility and mental
31 acuity that can diminish with age, persons employed in these
32 positions are classified as special risk and able to retire at
33 an earlier age, and
34 WHEREAS, one mechanism for retaining qualified officers is
35 to extend the amount of time that such officers can remain in
36 the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP), NOW, THEREFORE,
37
38 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
39
40 Section 1. Present paragraph (e) of subsection (9) of
41 section 121.091, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph
42 (f), a new paragraph (e) is added to that subsection, and
43 paragraph (b) of subsection (13) of that section is amended, to
44 read:
45 121.091 Benefits payable under the system.—Benefits may not
46 be paid under this section unless the member has terminated
47 employment as provided in s. 121.021(39)(a) or begun
48 participation in the Deferred Retirement Option Program as
49 provided in subsection (13), and a proper application has been
50 filed in the manner prescribed by the department. The department
51 may cancel an application for retirement benefits when the
52 member or beneficiary fails to timely provide the information
53 and documents required by this chapter and the department’s
54 rules. The department shall adopt rules establishing procedures
55 for application for retirement benefits and for the cancellation
56 of such application when the required information or documents
57 are not received.
58 (9) EMPLOYMENT AFTER RETIREMENT; LIMITATION.—
59 (e) A member who is employed as a law enforcement officer,
60 correctional officer, or community-based correctional probation
61 officer, as described in s. 121.0515(2); who has a rank or the
62 equivalent rank of captain or below at the beginning of
63 participation in DROP; and who participates in DROP for an
64 additional 36 months beyond the 60-month period, at the
65 conclusion of his or her participation in DROP, may not be
66 employed, reemployed, or retained in a contractual capacity by
67 the same employer from which the member retired or from which
68 the member terminated DROP participation, except that the
69 retiree may be retained by the employer as a part-time law
70 enforcement officer, an auxiliary law enforcement officer, a
71 part-time correctional officer, or an auxiliary correctional
72 officer, as those terms are defined in s. 943.10, if the retiree
73 is serving on a voluntary basis and receives no more than $1 per
74 calendar year for services rendered directly for the employer. A
75 retiree who is reemployed or retained in a contractual capacity
76 in violation of this paragraph voids his or her application for
77 retirement benefits. A retiree who violates this paragraph and
78 an employer who employs or contracts with such person in
79 violation of this paragraph are jointly and severally liable for
80 reimbursement to the retirement trust fund, including the
81 Florida Retirement System Trust Fund and the Public Employee
82 Optional Retirement Program Trust Fund, from which the benefits
83 were paid. This paragraph does not apply to a retiree who is
84 elected to an office or appointed to an office by the Governor
85 or by the Governor and Cabinet.
86 (13) DEFERRED RETIREMENT OPTION PROGRAM.—In general, and
87 subject to this section, the Deferred Retirement Option Program,
88 hereinafter referred to as DROP, is a program under which an
89 eligible member of the Florida Retirement System may elect to
90 participate, deferring receipt of retirement benefits while
91 continuing employment with his or her Florida Retirement System
92 employer. The deferred monthly benefits shall accrue in the
93 Florida Retirement System on behalf of the participant, plus
94 interest compounded monthly, for the specified period of the
95 DROP participation, as provided in paragraph (c). Upon
96 termination of employment, the participant shall receive the
97 total DROP benefits and begin to receive the previously
98 determined normal retirement benefits. Participation in the DROP
99 does not guarantee employment for the specified period of DROP.
100 Participation in DROP by an eligible member beyond the initial
101 60-month period as authorized in this subsection shall be on an
102 annual contractual basis for all participants.
103 (b) Participation in DROP.—
104 1. An eligible member may elect to participate in DROP for
105 a period not to exceed a maximum of 60 calendar months.
106 However:,
107 a. Members who are instructional personnel employed by the
108 Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind and authorized by the
109 Board of Trustees of the Florida School for the Deaf and the
110 Blind, who are instructional personnel as defined in s.
111 1012.01(2)(a)-(d) in grades K-12 and authorized by the district
112 school superintendent, or who are instructional personnel as
113 defined in s. 1012.01(2)(a) employed by a developmental research
114 school and authorized by the school’s director, or if the school
115 has no director, by the school’s principal, may participate in
116 DROP for up to 36 calendar months beyond the 60-month period.
117 b. Members who are employed as law enforcement officers,
118 correctional officers, or community-based correctional probation
119 officers, as described in s. 121.0515(2), and who have a rank or
120 equivalent rank of captain or below at the beginning of
121 participation in DROP, may participate in DROP for up to 36
122 months beyond the 60-month period.
123 2. Upon deciding to participate in DROP, the member shall
124 submit, on forms required by the division:
125 a. A written election to participate in DROP;
126 b. Selection of DROP participation and termination dates
127 that satisfy the limitations stated in paragraph (a) and
128 subparagraph 1. The termination date must be in a binding letter
129 of resignation to the employer establishing a deferred
130 termination date. The member may change the termination date
131 within the limitations of subparagraph 1., but only with the
132 written approval of the employer;
133 c. A properly completed DROP application for service
134 retirement as provided in this section; and
135 d. Any other information required by the division.
136 3. The DROP participant is a retiree under the Florida
137 Retirement System for all purposes, except for paragraph (5)(f)
138 and subsection (9) and ss. 112.3173, 112.363, 121.053, and
139 121.122. DROP participation is final and may not be canceled by
140 the participant after the first payment is credited during the
141 DROP participation period. However, participation in DROP does
142 not alter the participant’s employment status, and the member is
143 not deemed retired from employment until his or her deferred
144 resignation is effective and termination occurs as defined in s.
145 121.021.
146 4. Elected officers are eligible to participate in DROP
147 subject to the following:
148 a. An elected officer who reaches normal retirement date
149 during a term of office may defer the election to participate
150 until the next succeeding term in that office. An elected
151 officer who exercises this option may participate in DROP for up
152 to 60 calendar months or no longer than the succeeding term of
153 office, whichever is less.
154 b. An elected or a nonelected participant may run for a
155 term of office while participating in DROP and, if elected,
156 extend the DROP termination date accordingly; however, if the
157 such additional term of office exceeds the 60-month limitation
158 established in subparagraph 1., and the officer does not resign
159 from office within the such 60-month limitation, the retirement
160 and the participant’s DROP is null and void as provided in sub
161 subparagraph (c)5.d.
162 c. An elected officer who is dually employed and elects to
163 participate in DROP must terminate all employment relationships
164 as provided in s. 121.021(39) for the nonelected position within
165 the original 60-month period or maximum participation period as
166 provided in subparagraph 1. For DROP participation ending:
167 (I) Before July 1, 2010, the officer may continue
168 employment as an elected officer as provided in s. 121.053. The
169 elected officer shall be enrolled as a renewed member in the
170 Elected Officers’ Class or the Regular Class, as provided in ss.
171 121.053 and 121.122, on the first day of the month after
172 termination of employment in the nonelected position and
173 termination of DROP. Distribution of the DROP benefits shall be
174 made as provided in paragraph (c).
175 (II) On or after July 1, 2010, the officer may continue
176 employment as an elected officer but must defer termination as
177 provided in s. 121.053.
178 Section 2. The Legislature finds and declares that ensuring
179 the availability of experienced law enforcement, correctional,
180 and probation officers to protect the safety and welfare of the
181 public is an important state interest. Providing such officers
182 who are members of the Florida Retirement System with an
183 opportunity to extend their employment as law enforcement
184 officers, correctional officers, or probation officers by
185 increasing the maximum participation period in the Deferred
186 Retirement Option Program will help serve that interest. Funding
187 for such retirement benefits must be made, administered, and
188 funded in an actuarially sound manner as required by s. 14,
189 Article X of the State Constitution and part VII of chapter 112,
190 Florida Statutes.
191 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.