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



                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                                   Bill No. HB 347

    Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)

                            CHAMBER ACTION
              Senate                               House
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  4  ______________________________________________________________

  5                                           ORIGINAL STAMP BELOW

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10  ______________________________________________________________

11  The Committee on State Administration offered the following:

12

13         Amendment (with title amendment) 

14  Remove from the bill:  Everything after the enacting clause

15

16  and insert in lieu thereof:  Subsection (1), paragraph (a) of

17  subsection (2), paragraph (e) of subsection (4), paragraph (b)

18  of subsection (8), and paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection

19  (9) of section 121.4501, Florida Statutes, are amended, and

20  paragraph (f) is added to subsection (9) of said section, to

21  read:

22         121.4501  Public Employee Optional Retirement

23  Program.--

24         (1)  The Trustees of the State Board of Administration

25  shall establish an optional defined contribution retirement

26  program for members of the Florida Retirement System under

27  which retirement benefits will be provided for eligible

28  employees who elect to participate in the program. The

29  benefits to be provided for or on behalf of participants in

30  such optional retirement program shall be provided through

31  employee-directed investments, in accordance with s. 401(a) of

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                                   Bill No. HB 347

    Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)





  1  the Internal Revenue Code and its related regulations. The

  2  employers shall contribute, as provided in this section and s.

  3  121.571, to the Public Employee Optional Retirement Program

  4  Trust Fund toward the funding of such optional benefits.

  5         (2)  DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section, the term:

  6         (a)  "Approved provider" or "provider" means a private

  7  sector company that is selected and approved by the state

  8  board to offer one or more investment products or services to

  9  the Public Employee Optional Retirement Program, including a

10  "bundled provider" that offers participants both a full range

11  of individually allocated investment products and a full range

12  of administrative and customer services, to include accounting

13  and administration of individual participant benefits and

14  contributions; individual participant recordkeeping; asset

15  purchase, control, and safekeeping; direct execution of the

16  participant's instructions as to asset and contribution

17  allocation; calculation of daily net asset values; direct

18  access to participant account information; periodic reporting

19  to participants, at least quarterly, on account balances and

20  transactions; direct advice and guidance on its investments

21  options; a broad array of distribution options; and asset

22  allocation and retirement counseling and education. Private

23  sector companies include investment management companies,

24  insurance companies, depositories, and mutual fund companies.

25

26  The term does not include any renewed member of the Florida

27  Retirement System, any member participating in the Deferred

28  Retirement Option Program established under s. 121.091(13), or

29  any employee participating in an optional retirement program

30  established under s. 121.051(2)(c) or s. 121.35.

31         (4)  PARTICIPATION; ENROLLMENT.--

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                                   Bill No. HB 347

    Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)





  1         (e)  After the period during which an eligible employee

  2  had the choice to elect the defined benefit program or the

  3  Public Employee Optional Retirement Program, the employee

  4  shall have one opportunity, that is, a second election, at the

  5  employee's discretion, to choose to move from the defined

  6  benefit program to the Public Employee Optional Retirement

  7  Program or from the Public Employee Optional Retirement

  8  Program to the defined benefit program. This paragraph shall

  9  be contingent upon approval from the Internal Revenue Service

10  for including the choice described herein within the programs

11  offered by the Florida Retirement System.

12         1.  If the employee chooses to move to the Public

13  Employee Optional Retirement Program, the applicable

14  provisions of this section shall govern the transfer.

15         2.  If the employee chooses to move from the Public

16  Employee Optional Retirement Program to the defined benefit

17  program, the employee must transfer from his or her optional

18  program Public Employee Optional Retirement Program account an

19  amount equal to the sum of the following:

20         a.  The value of any account balance representing the

21  actuarial present value of the employee's accrued benefit

22  transferred to the optional program at the time of the initial

23  transfer, and

24         b.  The product of the participant's salary during the

25  period of participation in the optional program times the

26  greater of the applicable contribution rate or the applicable

27  employer normal cost rate in effect for the Florida Retirement

28  System defined benefit program membership class to which the

29  member belonged during each fiscal year of such period, and

30         c.  Interest on the sum of the amounts calculated under

31  a. and b.  The interest rate shall be equal to the greater of

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                                   Bill No. HB 347

    Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)





  1  the annualized rate of return earned on investments of the

  2  assets of the Florida Retirement System Trust Fund as

  3  calculated by the State Board of Adminstration for each fiscal

  4  year of the participation period or the Florida Retirement

  5  System Actuarial Valuation assumed rate of return of 8 percent

  6  and from other employee moneys as necessary, a sum

  7  representing all contributions that would have been made to

  8  the defined benefit plan for that employee and the actual

  9  return that would have been earned on those contributions had

10  they been invested in the defined benefit program.

11

12  If, at the time of a member's election to transfer to the

13  defined benefit program, the member's optional program account

14  does not contain the total amount required to be transferred

15  to the defined benefit program, the member must pay the

16  remaining balance. If the member's optional program account

17  contains more than the amount required to be transferred to

18  the defined benefit program, such additional amount shall

19  remain in the member's optional program account.

20         3.  The second election must be made no later than 3

21  years after the initial election.

22         4.  The second election shall be voided if, within 3

23  years of the second election, the participant terminates his

24  or her employment with his or her employer for reasons other

25  than death or disability.

26         (8)  ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM.--

27         (b)1.  The state board shall select and contract with

28  one third-party administrator to provide administrative

29  services, where those services do not duplicate services

30  provided by the Division of Retirement within the Department

31  of Management Services. With the approval of the state board,

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                                   Bill No. HB 347

    Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)





  1  the third-party administrator may subcontract with other

  2  organizations or individuals to provide components of the

  3  administrative services. As a cost of administration, the

  4  board may compensate any such contractor for its services, in

  5  accordance with the terms of the contract, as is deemed

  6  necessary or proper by the board. The third-party

  7  administrator may not be an approved provider or be affiliated

  8  with an approved provider.

  9         2.  These administrative services include, but are not

10  limited to, enrollment of eligible employees, collection of

11  employer contributions, disbursement of such contributions to

12  approved providers in accordance with the allocation

13  directions of participants; services relating to consolidated

14  billing; individual and collective, plan-wide recordkeeping

15  and accounting; asset purchase, control, and safekeeping; and

16  direct disbursement of funds to and from the third-party

17  administrator, the division, the board, employers,

18  participants, approved providers, and beneficiaries. Nothing

19  in this section shall prevent or prohibit a bundled provider

20  from providing any administrative or customer service,

21  including accounting and administration of individual

22  participant benefits and contributions; individual participant

23  recordkeeping; asset purchase, control, and safekeeping;

24  direct execution of the participant's instructions as to asset

25  and contribution allocation; calculation of daily net asset

26  values; direct access to participant account information;

27  periodic reporting to participants, at least quarterly, on

28  account balances and transactions.

29         3.  The state board shall select and contract with one

30  or more organizations to provide educational services. With

31  approval of the board, the organizations may subcontract with

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                                   Bill No. HB 347

    Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)





  1  other organizations or individuals to provide components of

  2  the educational services. As a cost of administration, the

  3  board may compensate any such contractor for its services in

  4  accordance with the terms of the contract, as is deemed

  5  necessary or proper by the board. The education organization

  6  may not be an approved provider or be affiliated with an

  7  approved provider.

  8         4.  Educational services shall be designed by the board

  9  and department to assist employers, eligible employees,

10  participants, and beneficiaries in order to maintain

11  compliance with United States Department of Labor regulations

12  under s. 404(c) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act

13  of 1974 and to assist employees in their choice of defined

14  benefit or defined contribution retirement alternatives.

15  Educational services include, but are not limited to,

16  disseminating educational materials; providing retirement

17  planning education; explaining the differences between the

18  defined benefit retirement plan and the defined contribution

19  retirement plan; and offering financial planning guidance on

20  matters such as investment diversification, investment risks,

21  investment costs, and asset allocation. An approved provider

22  may also provide educational information, including retirement

23  planning and investment allocation information concerning its

24  products and services.

25         (9)  INVESTMENT OPTIONS OR PRODUCTS; PERFORMANCE

26  REVIEW.--

27         (a)  The board shall develop policy and procedures for

28  selecting, evaluating, and monitoring the performance of

29  approved providers and investment products to which employees

30  may direct retirement contributions under the program. In

31  accordance with such policy and procedures, the board shall

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                                   Bill No. HB 347

    Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)





  1  designate and contract with five for a number of investment

  2  products as determined by the board. The board shall select

  3  one or more bundled providers who offer nine multiple

  4  investment products and related services, including at least

  5  one provider who offers guaranteed annuities when such an

  6  approach is determined by the board to afford value to the

  7  participants otherwise not available through individual

  8  investment products. The board shall review and manage all

  9  educational materials, contract terms, fee schedules, and

10  other aspects of the approved provider relationships to ensure

11  that no provider is unduly favored or penalized by virtue of

12  its status within the plan.

13         (b)  The board shall consider investment options or

14  products it considers appropriate to give participants the

15  opportunity to accumulate retirement benefits, subject to the

16  following:

17         1.  The Public Employee Optional Retirement Program

18  must offer a diversified mix of low-cost investment products

19  that span the risk-return spectrum, and shall include a

20  guaranteed account as well as investment products that offer

21  the option of receiving lifetime income consistent with the

22  long-term retirement security of a pension plan and similar to

23  the lifetime income benefit provided by the Florida Retirement

24  System.

25         2.  Investment options or products offered by the group

26  of approved providers may include mutual funds, group annuity

27  contracts, individual retirement annuities, interests in

28  trusts, collective trusts, separate accounts, and other such

29  financial instruments, and shall include products that give

30  participants the option of committing their contributions for

31  an extended time period in an effort to obtain higher returns

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                                   Bill No. HB 347

    Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)





  1  than could be obtained from investment products offering full

  2  liquidity.

  3         3.  The board shall not contract with any provider that

  4  imposes a front-end, back-end, contingent, or deferred sales

  5  charge, or any other fee that limits or restricts the ability

  6  of participants to select any investment product available in

  7  the optional program. This prohibition shall not apply to fees

  8  or charges that are imposed on withdrawals from products that

  9  give participants the option of committing their contributions

10  for an extended time period in an effort to obtain higher

11  returns than could be obtained from investment products

12  offering full liquidity.

13         4.  Fees or charges for insurance features, such as

14  mortality and expense risk charges, shall be reasonable

15  relative to the benefits provided.

16         (f)1.  An approved provider shall comply with all

17  applicable federal and state securities and insurance laws and

18  regulations, as well as the applicable rules and guidelines of

19  the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD)

20  governing the ethical marketing of investment products. In

21  furtherance of this mandate, an approved provider must agree

22  in its contract with the board to establish and maintain a

23  compliance education and monitoring system to supervise the

24  activities of all personnel who directly communicate with

25  individual participants and recommend investment products,

26  which system is consistent with NASD rules.

27         2.  Approved provider personnel who directly

28  communicate with individual participants and who recommend

29  investment products shall make an independent and unbiased

30  determination as to whether an investment product is suitable

31  for a particular participant.

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                                   Bill No. HB 347

    Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)





  1         3.  The board shall develop procedures to receive and

  2  resolve participant complaints against a provider, and, when

  3  appropriate, refer such complaints to the appropriate

  4  regulatory agency.

  5         4.  Approved providers shall be responsible for the

  6  accuracy of all information presented to participants. An

  7  approved provider shall not represent itself to participants

  8  as the sole provider of investment products or services under

  9  the optional retirement program. Any participant inquiries to

10  an approved provider regarding the products or services of

11  another approved provider shall be referred to the third party

12  administrator.

13         5.  Approved providers are prohibited from selling any

14  customer list or participant identification information

15  generated through their offering of products or services

16  through the optional retirement program.

17

18

19  ================ T I T L E   A M E N D M E N T ===============

20  And the title is amended as follows:

21         On page 1, lines 6 through 8,

22  remove from the title of the bill:  all of said lines

23

24  and insert in lieu thereof:

25         the program; revising sum required for

26         participant transfer; limiting participants'

27         second election; providing requirements for

28         approved providers regarding federal and state

29         laws and regulations, and for communications

30         with participants;

31

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