Senate Bill 1856

    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 1856

    By Senator Silver





    38-704-99

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the Florida Retirement

  3         System; creating a trust fund for deposit of

  4         contributions to the preservation plan

  5         established under s. 121.091(15), F.S.;

  6         prescribing ownership and use of assets;

  7         providing a contingent effective date.

  8

  9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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11         Section 1.  Contributions to the preservation plan

12  established in section 121.091, Florida Statutes, shall be

13  deposited into a separate trust fund established and

14  administered by the Division of Retirement as trustee. This

15  trust fund shall be maintained and used solely for the purpose

16  of providing benefits under the preservation plan. Income

17  accruing to the trust fund shall constitute income derived

18  from the exercise of an essential governmental function upon

19  which such trust fund is exempt from tax under s. 115 of the

20  Internal Revenue Code. The trust fund moneys and assets used

21  to provide benefits under the preservation plan may not be

22  commingled with the moneys and assets of the remainder of the

23  Florida Retirement System or of any other qualified plan. The

24  preservation plan and the trust fund created in this section

25  shall never receive any transfer of moneys or assets from the

26  remainder of the Florida Retirement System or any other

27  qualified plan. Title to the beneficial ownership of any

28  assets, whether cash or other investments that the employers

29  may earmark to pay any amount under the preservation plan,

30  shall at all times remain in the employer until used to pay

31  benefits under the preservation plan, administrative expenses,

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 1856
    38-704-99




  1  or employer taxes, if any. Participants and other persons

  2  receiving benefits under the preservation plan shall not have

  3  any property or ownership interest whatsoever in any specific

  4  assets of the employer. The obligation of the employer to make

  5  payments pursuant to the preservation plan shall be according

  6  to law. A participant or other person receiving benefits under

  7  section 121.091, Florida Statutes, does not have a preferred

  8  claim or lien on any asset of the employer. The benefit

  9  liabilities of the preservation plan shall be funded on a

10  plan-year-to-plan-year basis. The trust fund assets required

11  under section 121.091, Florida Statutes, shall not be

12  accumulated to pay benefits in future years. Any assets of the

13  trust fund not used for paying benefits for a current year

14  shall be used, as determined by the Division of Retirement,

15  for the payment of the administrative expenses of the

16  preservation plan for the current plan year or for future plan

17  years.

18         Section 2.  This act shall take effect on the effective

19  date of Senate Bill     , but it shall not take effect unless

20  it is enacted by a three-fifths vote of the membership of each

21  house of the Legislature and unless Senate Bill     , 1999

22  Regular Session, becomes a law.

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24            *****************************************

25                          SENATE SUMMARY

26    Creates the trust fund into which will be deposited
      contributions to the preservation of benefits plan
27    established in section 121.091, Florida Statutes.

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