HB 0603, Engrossed 1 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 an
7    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) Professional money manager.--An investment management
88    firm that is registered as an investment advisor with the
89    Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to the Investment
90    Advisors Act of 1940, which firm shall acknowledge in writing
91    its fiduciary duty to the Board of Trustees.
92          (26)(27)Refund of contributions.--The distribution of
93    funds contributed by a member of the plan.
94          (27)(28)Retiree.--A member of the plan, or a dependent of
95    a member, who has drawn or is drawing a pension under the
96    provisions of this act.
97          (28)(29)Salary.--The total cash remuneration paid to the
98    member of the plan by the city for services rendered before all
99    pretax, salary deferral, or salary reduction contributions made
100    to the General Pension and Retirement Fund on behalf of the
101    general pension plan member under section 404(h)(2) of the
102    Internal Revenue Code and any code section 457 plan and section
103    125 plan of the city. Unless otherwise provided by the city
104    council, "salary" shall exclude any educational incentive pay,
105    field training pay, certificate pay, specialized duty pay,
106    pistol qualifications pay, clothing allowance, education
107    benefit, accumulated sick leave pay at retirement, accumulated
108    vacation pay at retirement, shift differential pay,
109    nonsubstantiated business expenses, noncash benefits such as
110    employer-provided vehicles, or any other city-provided benefit,
111    severance pay, or similar lump-sum payment made upon separation
112    of service, and any other pay excluded by the city council.
113          (29)(30)Service under the plan.--A period of service
114    years credited to a member of the plan, during which the member
115    has contributed an amount to the General Pension and Retirement
116    Fund, as provided in this act.
117          (30)(31)Spouse.--Under the laws of the State of Florida,
118    the legally married husband or wife of the member of the plan.
119          (31)(32)Surviving spouse.--The legally married husband or
120    wife of a member of the plan who outlives the member of the
121    plan.
122          (32)(33)Vested member or vesting right.--A member of the
123    plan who has a right, or the right itself, to future pension
124    benefits as provided in this act.
125          Section 2. Section 36 of chapter 99-474, Laws of Florida,
126    is amended to read:
127          Section 36. Investing funds; custodian of securities,
128    contracts with professional money managersinvestment banks.--
129          (1) The pension board shall have the power and authority
130    to invest and reinvest the assets of the General Pension and
131    Retirement Fund in:
132          (a) Time or savings accounts of a national bank, a state
133    bank insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or a
134    savings and loan association insured by the Federal Savings and
135    Loan Insurance Corporation.
136          (b) Obligations of the United States Governmentor
137    obligations guaranteed as to principal and interest by the
138    United States Government.
139          (c) Obligations of municipal authority issued pursuant to
140    the laws of this state; however, for each of the 5 years next
141    preceding the date of investment, the income of such authority
142    available for fixed charges shall have been not less than 1 1/2
143    times its average annual fixed-charges requirement over the life
144    of its obligations.
145          (d) Bonds, stocks, or other evidences of indebtedness
146    issued or guaranteed by a corporation organized under the laws
147    of the United States, any state or organized territory of the
148    United States, or the District of Columbia; however, the board
149    shall not invest more than 5 percent of its assets in the common
150    stock or capital stock of any one issuing company, nor shall the
151    aggregate investment in any one issuing company exceed 5 percent
152    of the outstanding capital stock of the company, nor shall the
153    aggregate market value of the fund's investments in common
154    stocks exceed 75 percent of the assets of the fund, nor shall
155    the aggregate market value of the fund's investments in all
156    corporate securities exceed 80 percent of the assets of the
157    fund.
158          (e) Commingled bank and insurance company temporary
159    investment, stock, and bond funds without regard to the quality
160    restrictions for individual securities contained in paragraph
161    (d).
162          (f) Commingled bank and insurance company real estate
163    funds up to the maximum of 15 percent of assets at market value.
164    Direct ownership and operation of real estate properties are
165    prohibited.
166          (g) Guaranteed insurance contracts.
167          (h) Foreign securities, provided that the aggregate market
168    value of such investments does not exceed 25 percent of the
169    assets of the fund.
170          (2)(a) The pension board and the City of Pensacola are
171    hereby authorized to contract with one or more professional
172    moneymanagersinvestment banks of national reputeto act as
173    agents and corporate trusteesof all or any portion of the
174    assets of the fund. Such professional money manager or managers
175    The investment bank or banksshall have full investment powers
176    with respect to said assets subject to the provisions of
177    subsection (1) which limit the types of investments which may be
178    made, and subject to such further restrictions as may be imposed
179    by the board.
180          (b) The city and the board, for the purpose of contracting
181    with one or more professional money managersan investment bank
182    or banksto invest all or any portion of the fund, shall enter
183    into agreements between themselves providing for procedures for
184    selecting, entering into contracts with, and terminating
185    contracts with any such professional money manager or managers
186    investment bank or banks.
187          (3) In order to accomplish the purpose outlined in
188    subsection (2), the pension board may direct the plan
189    administrator of the city to act as the board's agent in
190    handling the administrative details concerning contracting with
191    any professional money manager or managersthe investment bank;
192    however, the plan administrator or his or her designee shall
193    report the status of the pension funds to the pension board on a
194    quarterly basis or with greater frequency as requested by the
195    board, and the pension board shall review same and give
196    directions to the plan administrator with respect to the
197    continued contract status of the professional money manager or
198    managersinvestment bank.
199          Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
200         
201