House Bill 0895c1

    Florida House of Representatives - 1999              CS/HB 895

        By the Committee on Governmental Operations and
    Representatives Turnbull and Boyd





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to state employees; providing

  3         legislative intent; directing the Department of

  4         Management Services, in cooperation with

  5         legislative staff and the Office of Program

  6         Policy Analysis and Government Accountability,

  7         to study certain types of benefit plans and

  8         related compensation options that could be made

  9         available to part-time, temporary, and seasonal

10         state employees; providing requirements with

11         respect thereto; requiring a report; providing

12         an effective date.

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

15

16         Section 1.  (1)  It is the intent of the Legislature

17  that part-time, temporary, and seasonal employees of the state

18  be afforded the opportunity to plan for their financial future

19  in connection with the compensation they receive for their

20  services to state government to the fullest extent possible.

21  Retirement benefits, deferred compensation plans, and similar

22  programs are readily available to full-time state employees,

23  but these types of programs have not in the past been offered

24  to the state's other-personal-services employees.

25         (2)  The Department of Management Services, in

26  cooperation with legislative staff and the Office of Program

27  Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, is directed to

28  conduct an in-depth study to identify the types of benefit

29  plans or related compensation options that exist that could be

30  made available to such employees.  The department shall

31  compare the types of benefits afforded by such plans and other

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






    Florida House of Representatives - 1999              CS/HB 895

    688-112-99






  1  options and identify the advantages and disadvantages of each.

  2  In particular, the department shall investigate defined

  3  contribution programs under s. 3121(b)(7)(F) of the Internal

  4  Revenue Code, and alternative plans that provide similar

  5  benefits.  In evaluating available plans, the department shall

  6  apply the following criteria, as applicable:

  7         (a)  Whether there is any risk of the principal to plan

  8  participants.

  9         (b)  Whether the rate of return is reasonable or

10  guaranteed.

11         (c)  Whether any penalty, fee, or tax would apply upon

12  withdrawal of funds.

13         (d)  The effect of an employee's participation upon his

14  or her ability to contribute to other plans, such as an

15  individual retirement account.

16         (e)  The degree and timing of vesting under the plan.

17         (f)  Whether the plan is portable.

18         (3)  The department shall prepare a report of its study

19  which describes the available benefit plans or other

20  compensation options and recommends one or more that would be

21  most beneficial for the state's part-time, temporary, and

22  seasonal employees.  The report shall be submitted to the

23  Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader

24  of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate,

25  and the Minority Leader of the Senate, no later than December

26  31, 1999.

27         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

28  law.

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