HB 0603 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the General Pension and Retirement Fund
3	of the City of Pensacola, Escambia County; amending
4	chapter 99-474, Laws of Florida, as amended by chapter
5	2000-470, Laws of Florida; revising definitions; revising
6	provisions for investments of funds; providing for repeal
7	of conflicting laws; providing an effective date.
8
9	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
10
11	Section 1. Section 2 of chapter 99-474, Laws of Florida,
12	as amended by chapter 2000-470, Laws of Florida, is amended to
13	read:
14	Section 2. Definitions.--The words and phrases as used in
15	this act shall have the following meanings unless a different
16	meaning is plainly required by the context:
17	(1) Act.--The General Pension and Retirement Fund Special
18	Act.
19	(2) Actuary.--The person, firm, or corporation, one of
20	whose officers shall be a member of the Society of Actuaries and
21	an enrolled actuary, as defined by the Employee Retirement
22	Income Security Act of 1974, authorized by the board of trustees
23	of the fund to render actuarial services to the fund.
24	(3) Average monthly salary.--One twenty-fourth of the
25	salary of the 2 best years of the last 5 years of credited
26	service prior to retirement or death.
27	(4) Bank of national repute.--See investment bank of
28	national repute.
29	(4)(5)Beneficiary.--Person so designated in writing by a
30	member of the general pension plan who may become entitled to
31	receive a refund of contributions made by a member of the plan.
32	(5)(6)Best 2 years.--Two separate periods of 365
33	consecutive days.
34	(6)(7)Board of trustees, the board, or the general
35	pension board.--The pension board, consisting of six members as
36	provided in this act.
37	(7)(8)City.--The City of Pensacola.
38	(8)(9)City council.--The city council of the City of
39	Pensacola.
40	(9)(10)Code.--Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
41	(10)(11)Credited service years or credited years of
42	service.--A period of service years credited to a member of the
43	plan in which the member has contributed an amount to the
44	General Pension and Retirement Fund, as provided in this act.
45	(11)(12)Dependent.--The spouse or dependent children
46	under the age of 18 of a member of the plan.
47	(12)(13)Dependent children.--A son or daughter under 18
48	years of age who is born in wedlock to a member of the plan;
49	and/or a child under 18 years of age adopted by a member of the
50	plan; and/or a child under 18 years of age dependent upon a
51	member of the plan for support whose dependency is proven to the
52	satisfaction of the board or, in the alternative, whose
53	dependency has been established by a final court order.
54	(13)(14)Disability.--Physical or mental impairment which
55	renders an employee partially and permanently or totally and
56	permanently unable to perform the duties of his or her
57	employment or unable to perform any substantial gainful
58	employment.
59	(14)(15)ECUA.--Escambia County Utilities Authority.
60	(15)(16)General Pension and Retirement Fund, general
61	pension plan, or the plan.--The special fund created exclusively
62	for the purposes provided in this act.
63	(17) Investment bank of national repute.-- A bank having
64	trust powers or a trust company which is experienced in the
65	fiduciary investment of pension funds from more than one state.
66	(16)(18)Line of duty.--Within the scope of employment as
67	an employee of the city during such times as such employee was
68	rendering services to the city.
69	(17)(19)Major fraction of a year.--For calculation of
70	benefits in this act, 6 months and 1 day.
71	(18)(20)Member of the plan.--An individual who has been
72	credited with a period of service under the plan and has
73	contributed an amount to the plan, as provided in this act.
74	(19)(21)Nonemployment.--Any period of time an individual
75	is not employed in any capacity by the City of Pensacola.
76	(20)(22)Normal retirement and early retirement.-- Any
77	retirement not based upon a disability, illness, or injury.
78	(21)(23)Plan.--The General Pension and Retirement Fund.
79	(22)(24)Plan administrator.--The Director of Finance of
80	the City of Pensacola.
81	(23)(25)Pensioner.--A member of the plan who has drawn or
82	is drawing a pension under the provisions of this act.
83	(24)(26)Permanent full-time employee.--A person employed
84	by the city, working an established work period set forth by
85	city policy, and not employed on a part-time, temporary, or
86	specified timeframe basis.
87	(25)(27)Refund of contributions.--The distribution of
88	funds contributed by a member of the plan.
89	(26)(28)Retiree.--A member of the plan, or a dependent of
90	a member, who has drawn or is drawing a pension under the
91	provisions of this act.
92	(27)(29)Salary.--The total cash remuneration paid to the
93	member of the plan by the city for services rendered before all
94	pretax, salary deferral, or salary reduction contributions made
95	to the General Pension and Retirement Fund on behalf of the
96	general pension plan member under section 404(h)(2) of the
97	Internal Revenue Code and any code section 457 plan and section
98	125 plan of the city. Unless otherwise provided by the city
99	council, "salary" shall exclude any educational incentive pay,
100	field training pay, certificate pay, specialized duty pay,
101	pistol qualifications pay, clothing allowance, education
102	benefit, accumulated sick leave pay at retirement, accumulated
103	vacation pay at retirement, shift differential pay,
104	nonsubstantiated business expenses, noncash benefits such as
105	employer-provided vehicles, or any other city-provided benefit,
106	severance pay, or similar lump-sum payment made upon separation
107	of service, and any other pay excluded by the city council.
108	(28)(30)Service under the plan.--A period of service
109	years credited to a member of the plan, during which the member
110	has contributed an amount to the General Pension and Retirement
111	Fund, as provided in this act.
112	(29)(31)Spouse.--Under the laws of the State of Florida,
113	the legally married husband or wife of the member of the plan.
114	(30)(32)Surviving spouse.--The legally married husband or
115	wife of a member of the plan who outlives the member of the
116	plan.
117	(31)(33)Vested member or vesting right.--A member of the
118	plan who has a right, or the right itself, to future pension
119	benefits as provided in this act.
120	Section 2. Section 36 of chapter 99-474, Laws of Florida,
121	is amended to read:
122	Section 36. Investing funds; custodian of securities,
123	contracts with professional money managersinvestment banks.--
124	(1) The pension board shall have the power and authority
125	to invest and reinvest the assets of the General Pension and
126	Retirement Fund in:
127	(a) Time or savings accounts of a national bank, a state
128	bank insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or a
129	savings and loan association insured by the Federal Savings and
130	Loan Insurance Corporation.
131	(b) Obligations of the United States Governmentor
132	obligations guaranteed as to principal and interest by the
133	United States Government.
134	(c) Obligations of municipal authority issued pursuant to
135	the laws of this state; however, for each of the 5 years next
136	preceding the date of investment, the income of such authority
137	available for fixed charges shall have been not less than 1 1/2
138	times its average annual fixed-charges requirement over the life
139	of its obligations.
140	(d) Bonds, stocks, or other evidences of indebtedness
141	issued or guaranteed by a corporation organized under the laws
142	of the United States, any state or organized territory of the
143	United States, or the District of Columbia; however, the board
144	shall not invest more than 5 percent of its assets in the common
145	stock or capital stock of any one issuing company, nor shall the
146	aggregate investment in any one issuing company exceed 5 percent
147	of the outstanding capital stock of the company, nor shall the
148	aggregate market value of the fund's investments in common
149	stocks exceed 75 percent of the assets of the fund, nor shall
150	the aggregate market value of the fund's investments in all
151	corporate securities exceed 80 percent of the assets of the
152	fund.
153	(e) Commingled bank and insurance company temporary
154	investment, stock, and bond funds without regard to the quality
155	restrictions for individual securities contained in paragraph
156	(d).
157	(f) Commingled bank and insurance company real estate
158	funds up to the maximum of 15 percent of assets at market value.
159	Direct ownership and operation of real estate properties are
160	prohibited.
161	(g) Guaranteed insurance contracts.
162	(h) Foreign securities, provided that the aggregate market
163	value of such investments does not exceed 25 percent of the
164	assets of the fund.
165	(2)(a) The pension board and the City of Pensacola are
166	hereby authorized to contract with one or more professional
167	moneymanagersinvestment banks of national reputeto act as
168	agents and corporate trusteesof all or any portion of the
169	assets of the fund. Such professional money manager or managers
170	The investment bank or banksshall have full investment powers
171	with respect to said assets subject to the provisions of
172	subsection (1) which limit the types of investments which may be
173	made, and subject to such further restrictions as may be imposed
174	by the board.
175	(b) The city and the board, for the purpose of contracting
176	with one or more professional money managersan investment bank
177	or banksto invest all or any portion of the fund, shall enter
178	into agreements between themselves providing for procedures for
179	selecting, entering into contracts with, and terminating
180	contracts with any such professional money manager or managers
181	investment bank or banks.
182	(3) In order to accomplish the purpose outlined in
183	subsection (2), the pension board may direct the plan
184	administrator of the city to act as the board's agent in
185	handling the administrative details concerning contracting with
186	any professional money manager or managersthe investment bank;
187	however, the plan administrator or his or her designee shall
188	report the status of the pension funds to the pension board on a
189	quarterly basis or with greater frequency as requested by the
190	board, and the pension board shall review same and give
191	directions to the plan administrator with respect to the
192	continued contract status of the professional money manager or
193	managersinvestment bank.
194	Section 3. All laws or parts of laws in conflict with the
195	provisions of this act are repealed.
196	Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.