Florida Senate - 2012                             CS for SB 2088
       
       
       
       By the Committees on Governmental Oversight and Accountability;
       and Governmental Oversight and Accountability
       
       
       
       585-02802-12                                          20122088c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public retirement plans; amending
    3         s. 175.351, F.S.; revising provisions relating to
    4         benefits paid from the premium tax by a municipality
    5         or special fire control district that has its own
    6         pension plan; providing for retroactive application;
    7         amending s. 185.02, F.S.; revising the definition of
    8         the term “compensation” or “salary” for purposes of
    9         police officers’ pensions; amending s. 185.35, F.S.;
   10         revising provisions relating to benefits paid by a
   11         municipality that has its own pension plan; providing
   12         for retroactive application; providing a declaration
   13         of important state interest; providing an effective
   14         date.
   15  
   16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   17  
   18         Section 1. Subsection (6) is added to section 175.351,
   19  Florida Statutes, to read:
   20         175.351 Municipalities and special fire control districts
   21  having their own pension plans for firefighters.—For any
   22  municipality, special fire control district, local law
   23  municipality, local law special fire control district, or local
   24  law plan under this chapter, in order for municipalities and
   25  special fire control districts with their own pension plans for
   26  firefighters, or for firefighters and police officers if
   27  included, to participate in the distribution of the tax fund
   28  established pursuant to s. 175.101, local law plans must meet
   29  the minimum benefits and minimum standards set forth in this
   30  chapter.
   31         (6) Notwithstanding any other provision, with respect to
   32  any plan established under this chapter, if the municipality or
   33  special fire control district and the plan members’ collective
   34  bargaining representative or, if none, a majority of the plan
   35  members, mutually consent to the retirement benefits provided in
   36  the plan or to the use of income from the premium tax provided
   37  pursuant to this chapter, the provisions of the agreement shall
   38  be deemed to comply with this chapter for retirement purposes.
   39  This subsection is retroactive in application to any agreement
   40  entered into or effective on or after October 1, 2010.
   41         Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 185.02, Florida
   42  Statutes, is amended to read:
   43         185.02 Definitions.—For any municipality, chapter plan,
   44  local law municipality, or local law plan under this chapter,
   45  the following words and phrases as used in this chapter shall
   46  have the following meanings, unless a different meaning is
   47  plainly required by the context:
   48         (4) “Compensation” or “salary” means, for noncollectively
   49  bargained service earned before July 1, 2011, or for service
   50  earned under collective bargaining agreements in place before
   51  July 1, 2011, the total cash remuneration including overtime
   52  paid by the primary employer to a police officer for services
   53  rendered, but not including any payments for extra duty or
   54  special detail work performed on behalf of a second party
   55  employer. A local law plan may limit the amount of overtime
   56  payments which can be used for retirement benefit calculation
   57  purposes; however, such overtime limit may not be less than 300
   58  hours per officer per calendar year unless a smaller number of
   59  hours is mutually agreed to by the collective bargaining
   60  representative and municipality. For noncollectively bargained
   61  service earned on or after July 1, 2011, or for service earned
   62  under collective bargaining agreements entered into on or after
   63  July 1, 2011, the term has the same meaning except that when
   64  calculating retirement benefits, up to 300 hours per year in
   65  overtime compensation may be included unless a smaller number of
   66  hours is mutually agreed to by a majority of the plan members
   67  and the municipality as specified in the plan or collective
   68  bargaining agreement, but payments for accrued unused sick or
   69  annual leave may not be included.
   70         (a) Any retirement trust fund or plan that meets the
   71  requirements of this chapter does not, solely by virtue of this
   72  subsection, reduce or diminish the monthly retirement income
   73  otherwise payable to each police officer covered by the
   74  retirement trust fund or plan.
   75         (b) The member’s compensation or salary contributed as
   76  employee-elective salary reductions or deferrals to any salary
   77  reduction, deferred compensation, or tax-sheltered annuity
   78  program authorized under the Internal Revenue Code shall be
   79  deemed to be the compensation or salary the member would receive
   80  if he or she were not participating in such program and shall be
   81  treated as compensation for retirement purposes under this
   82  chapter.
   83         (c) For any person who first becomes a member in any plan
   84  year beginning on or after January 1, 1996, compensation for
   85  that plan year may not include any amounts in excess of the
   86  Internal Revenue Code s. 401(a)(17) limitation, as amended by
   87  the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, which limitation
   88  of $150,000 shall be adjusted as required by federal law for
   89  qualified government plans and shall be further adjusted for
   90  changes in the cost of living in the manner provided by Internal
   91  Revenue Code s. 401(a)(17)(B). For any person who first became a
   92  member before the first plan year beginning on or after January
   93  1, 1996, the limitation on compensation may not be less than the
   94  maximum compensation amount that was allowed to be taken into
   95  account under the plan as in effect on July 1, 1993, which
   96  limitation shall be adjusted for changes in the cost of living
   97  since 1989 in the manner provided by Internal Revenue Code s.
   98  401(a)(17)(1991).
   99         Section 3. Subsection (6) is added to section 185.35,
  100  Florida Statutes, to read:
  101         185.35 Municipalities having their own pension plans for
  102  police officers.—For any municipality, chapter plan, local law
  103  municipality, or local law plan under this chapter, in order for
  104  municipalities with their own pension plans for police officers,
  105  or for police officers and firefighters if included, to
  106  participate in the distribution of the tax fund established
  107  pursuant to s. 185.08, local law plans must meet the minimum
  108  benefits and minimum standards set forth in this chapter:
  109         (6) Notwithstanding any other provision, with respect to
  110  any plan established under this chapter, if the municipality and
  111  the plan members’ collective bargaining representative or, if
  112  none, a majority of the plan members, mutually consent to the
  113  retirement benefits provided in the plan or to the use of income
  114  from the premium tax provided pursuant to this chapter, the
  115  provisions of the agreement shall be deemed to comply with this
  116  chapter for retirement purposes. This subsection is retroactive
  117  in application to any agreement entered into or effective on or
  118  after October 1, 2010.
  119         Section 4. The Legislature finds that a proper and
  120  legitimate state purpose is served when employees and retirees
  121  of the state and its political subdivisions, and the dependents,
  122  survivors, and beneficiaries of such employees and retirees, are
  123  extended the basic protections afforded by governmental
  124  retirement systems that provide fair and adequate benefits and
  125  that are managed, administered, and funded in an actuarially
  126  sound manner as required by s. 14, Article X of the State
  127  Constitution and part VII of chapter 112, Florida Statutes.
  128  Therefore, the Legislature determines and declares that this act
  129  fulfills an important state interest.
  130         Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.