HB 0603 2003
   
1 CHAMBER ACTION
2         
3         
4         
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6          The Committee on Local Government & Veterans' Affairs recommends
7    the following:
8         
9          Committee Substitute
10          Remove the entire bill and insert:
11 A bill to be entitled
12          An act relating to the General Pension and Retirement Fund
13    of the City of Pensacola, Escambia County; amending
14    chapter 99-474, Laws of Florida, as amended by chapter
15    2000-470, Laws of Florida; revising definitions; revising
16    provisions for investments of funds; providing an
17    effective date.
18         
19          Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20         
21          Section 1. Section 2 of chapter 99-474, Laws of Florida,
22    as amended by chapter 2000-470, Laws of Florida, is amended to
23    read:
24          Section 2. Definitions.--The words and phrases as used in
25    this act shall have the following meanings unless a different
26    meaning is plainly required by the context:
27          (1) Act.--The General Pension and Retirement Fund Special
28    Act.
29          (2) Actuary.--The person, firm, or corporation, one of
30    whose officers shall be a member of the Society of Actuaries and
31    an enrolled actuary, as defined by the Employee Retirement
32    Income Security Act of 1974, authorized by the board of trustees
33    of the fund to render actuarial services to the fund.
34          (3) Average monthly salary.--One twenty-fourth of the
35    salary of the 2 best years of the last 5 years of credited
36    service prior to retirement or death.
37          (4) Bank of national repute.--See investment bank of
38    national repute.
39          (4)(5)Beneficiary.--Person so designated in writing by a
40    member of the general pension plan who may become entitled to
41    receive a refund of contributions made by a member of the plan.
42          (5)(6)Best 2 years.--Two separate periods of 365
43    consecutive days.
44          (6)(7)Board of trustees, the board, or the general
45    pension board.--The pension board, consisting of six members as
46    provided in this act.
47          (7)(8)City.--The City of Pensacola.
48          (8)(9)City council.--The city council of the City of
49    Pensacola.
50          (9)(10)Code.--Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
51          (10)(11)Credited service years or credited years of
52    service.--A period of service years credited to a member of the
53    plan in which the member has contributed an amount to the
54    General Pension and Retirement Fund, as provided in this act.
55          (11)(12)Dependent.--The spouse or dependent children
56    under the age of 18 of a member of the plan.
57          (12)(13)Dependent children.--A son or daughter under 18
58    years of age who is born in wedlock to a member of the plan;
59    and/or a child under 18 years of age adopted by a member of the
60    plan; and/or a child under 18 years of age dependent upon a
61    member of the plan for support whose dependency is proven to the
62    satisfaction of the board or, in the alternative, whose
63    dependency has been established by a final court order.
64          (13)(14)Disability.--Physical or mental impairment which
65    renders an employee partially and permanently or totally and
66    permanently unable to perform the duties of his or her
67    employment or unable to perform any substantial gainful
68    employment.
69          (14)(15)ECUA.--Escambia County Utilities Authority.
70          (15)(16)General Pension and Retirement Fund, general
71    pension plan, or the plan.--The special fund created exclusively
72    for the purposes provided in this act.
73          (17) Investment bank of national repute.-- A bank having
74    trust powers or a trust company which is experienced in the
75    fiduciary investment of pension funds from more than one state.
76          (16)(18)Line of duty.--Within the scope of employment as
77    an employee of the city during such times as such employee was
78    rendering services to the city.
79          (17)(19)Major fraction of a year.--For calculation of
80    benefits in this act, 6 months and 1 day.
81          (18)(20)Member of the plan.--An individual who has been
82    credited with a period of service under the plan and has
83    contributed an amount to the plan, as provided in this act.
84          (19)(21)Nonemployment.--Any period of time an individual
85    is not employed in any capacity by the City of Pensacola.
86          (20)(22)Normal retirement and early retirement.-- Any
87    retirement not based upon a disability, illness, or injury.
88          (21)(23)Plan.--The General Pension and Retirement Fund.
89          (22)(24)Plan administrator.--The Director of Finance of
90    the City of Pensacola.
91          (23)(25)Pensioner.--A member of the plan who has drawn or
92    is drawing a pension under the provisions of this act.
93          (24)(26)Permanent full-time employee.--A person employed
94    by the city, working an established work period set forth by
95    city policy, and not employed on a part-time, temporary, or
96    specified timeframe basis.
97          (25)(27)Refund of contributions.--The distribution of
98    funds contributed by a member of the plan.
99          (26)(28)Retiree.--A member of the plan, or a dependent of
100    a member, who has drawn or is drawing a pension under the
101    provisions of this act.
102          (27)(29)Salary.--The total cash remuneration paid to the
103    member of the plan by the city for services rendered before all
104    pretax, salary deferral, or salary reduction contributions made
105    to the General Pension and Retirement Fund on behalf of the
106    general pension plan member under section 404(h)(2) of the
107    Internal Revenue Code and any code section 457 plan and section
108    125 plan of the city. Unless otherwise provided by the city
109    council, "salary" shall exclude any educational incentive pay,
110    field training pay, certificate pay, specialized duty pay,
111    pistol qualifications pay, clothing allowance, education
112    benefit, accumulated sick leave pay at retirement, accumulated
113    vacation pay at retirement, shift differential pay,
114    nonsubstantiated business expenses, noncash benefits such as
115    employer-provided vehicles, or any other city-provided benefit,
116    severance pay, or similar lump-sum payment made upon separation
117    of service, and any other pay excluded by the city council.
118          (28)(30)Service under the plan.--A period of service
119    years credited to a member of the plan, during which the member
120    has contributed an amount to the General Pension and Retirement
121    Fund, as provided in this act.
122          (29)(31)Spouse.--Under the laws of the State of Florida,
123    the legally married husband or wife of the member of the plan.
124          (30)(32)Surviving spouse.--The legally married husband or
125    wife of a member of the plan who outlives the member of the
126    plan.
127          (31)(33)Vested member or vesting right.--A member of the
128    plan who has a right, or the right itself, to future pension
129    benefits as provided in this act.
130          Section 2. Section 36 of chapter 99-474, Laws of Florida,
131    is amended to read:
132          Section 36. Investing funds; custodian of securities,
133    contracts with professional money managersinvestment banks.--
134          (1) The pension board shall have the power and authority
135    to invest and reinvest the assets of the General Pension and
136    Retirement Fund in:
137          (a) Time or savings accounts of a national bank, a state
138    bank insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or a
139    savings and loan association insured by the Federal Savings and
140    Loan Insurance Corporation.
141          (b) Obligations of the United States Governmentor
142    obligations guaranteed as to principal and interest by the
143    United States Government.
144          (c) Obligations of municipal authority issued pursuant to
145    the laws of this state; however, for each of the 5 years next
146    preceding the date of investment, the income of such authority
147    available for fixed charges shall have been not less than 1 1/2
148    times its average annual fixed-charges requirement over the life
149    of its obligations.
150          (d) Bonds, stocks, or other evidences of indebtedness
151    issued or guaranteed by a corporation organized under the laws
152    of the United States, any state or organized territory of the
153    United States, or the District of Columbia; however, the board
154    shall not invest more than 5 percent of its assets in the common
155    stock or capital stock of any one issuing company, nor shall the
156    aggregate investment in any one issuing company exceed 5 percent
157    of the outstanding capital stock of the company, nor shall the
158    aggregate market value of the fund's investments in common
159    stocks exceed 75 percent of the assets of the fund, nor shall
160    the aggregate market value of the fund's investments in all
161    corporate securities exceed 80 percent of the assets of the
162    fund.
163          (e) Commingled bank and insurance company temporary
164    investment, stock, and bond funds without regard to the quality
165    restrictions for individual securities contained in paragraph
166    (d).
167          (f) Commingled bank and insurance company real estate
168    funds up to the maximum of 15 percent of assets at market value.
169    Direct ownership and operation of real estate properties are
170    prohibited.
171          (g) Guaranteed insurance contracts.
172          (h) Foreign securities, provided that the aggregate market
173    value of such investments does not exceed 25 percent of the
174    assets of the fund.
175          (2)(a) The pension board and the City of Pensacola are
176    hereby authorized to contract with one or more professional
177    moneymanagersinvestment banks of national reputeto act as
178    agents and corporate trusteesof all or any portion of the
179    assets of the fund. Such professional money manager or managers
180    The investment bank or banksshall have full investment powers
181    with respect to said assets subject to the provisions of
182    subsection (1) which limit the types of investments which may be
183    made, and subject to such further restrictions as may be imposed
184    by the board.
185          (b) The city and the board, for the purpose of contracting
186    with one or more professional money managersan investment bank
187    or banksto invest all or any portion of the fund, shall enter
188    into agreements between themselves providing for procedures for
189    selecting, entering into contracts with, and terminating
190    contracts with any such professional money manager or managers
191    investment bank or banks.
192          (3) In order to accomplish the purpose outlined in
193    subsection (2), the pension board may direct the plan
194    administrator of the city to act as the board's agent in
195    handling the administrative details concerning contracting with
196    any professional money manager or managersthe investment bank;
197    however, the plan administrator or his or her designee shall
198    report the status of the pension funds to the pension board on a
199    quarterly basis or with greater frequency as requested by the
200    board, and the pension board shall review same and give
201    directions to the plan administrator with respect to the
202    continued contract status of the professional money manager or
203    managersinvestment bank.
204          Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
205