| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the City of Jacksonville, Duval County; |
| 3 | amending chapter 92-341, Laws of Florida, as amended, |
| 4 | being the Charter of the City of Jacksonville, to allow |
| 5 | certain city employees to become employed by the First |
| 6 | Coast Metropolitan Planning Organization and to retain |
| 7 | their city pension membership; providing an effective |
| 8 | date. |
| 9 |
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| 10 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Section 1. Section 16.04 of Article 16 of section 1 of |
| 13 | chapter 92-341, Laws of Florida, as amended, is amended to read: |
| 14 | Section 16.04. Election of membership by certain employees |
| 15 | and membership of handicapped employees.--Notwithstanding the |
| 16 | provisions of section 16.01: |
| 17 | (a) Any employee of the City of Jacksonville who is not in |
| 18 | the civil service system of the city nor any elected or |
| 19 | appointed officer of the city shall be required to become a |
| 20 | member of the retirement and pension system of the City of |
| 21 | Jacksonville, but any noncivil service employee or elected or |
| 22 | appointed officer may elect to become a member of the retirement |
| 23 | and pension system of the City of Jacksonville by filing a |
| 24 | written notice of election with the trustees of the pension |
| 25 | funds of the city retirement and pension system. Upon the filing |
| 26 | of the notice of election, the membership of the officer or |
| 27 | employee in any other public pension fund of which he may be a |
| 28 | member shall terminate. |
| 29 | (b) Any person employed by the City of Jacksonville in the |
| 30 | health and welfare department on or after October 1, 1968, who |
| 31 | was or shall be a member of the State and County Officers and |
| 32 | Employees Retirement System provided for in chapter 122, Florida |
| 33 | Statutes, at the time of such employment, shall not be required |
| 34 | to become a member of the retirement and pension system of the |
| 35 | City of Jacksonville, but may elect to discontinue membership in |
| 36 | the State and County Officers and Employees Retirement System |
| 37 | and to become a member of the retirement system and pension |
| 38 | system of the City of Jacksonville by filing a written notice of |
| 39 | election with the trustees of the pension funds of the |
| 40 | retirement and pension systems concerned. |
| 41 | (c) Excluding those employed in fire & rescue and law |
| 42 | enforcement, any person previously employed by the Jacksonville |
| 43 | Port Authority and employed by the Jacksonville Seaport |
| 44 | Authority or Jacksonville Airport Authority on October 1, 2001, |
| 45 | who was a member of the State and County Officers and Employees |
| 46 | Retirement System provided for in Chapter 122, Florida Statutes, |
| 47 | at the time of such employment, shall not be required to become |
| 48 | a member of the general employees retirement and pension system |
| 49 | of the City of Jacksonville, but, on a one-time basis, may elect |
| 50 | to discontinue membership in the State and County Officers and |
| 51 | Employees Retirement System and to become a member of the |
| 52 | general employees retirement system and pension system of the |
| 53 | City of Jacksonville by filing (no later than November 1, 2001) |
| 54 | a written notice of such election with the trustees of said |
| 55 | pension fund. Likewise, any person employed by the Jacksonville |
| 56 | Seaport Authority or Jacksonville Airport Authority (and not |
| 57 | previously employed, as of September 30, 2001, by the |
| 58 | Jacksonville Port Authority) on or after October 1, 2001, who |
| 59 | otherwise meets eligibility requirements, shall be required to |
| 60 | become a member of the retirement and pension system of the City |
| 61 | of Jacksonville, subject to the limitations contained in the |
| 62 | next sentence. Provided, however, any person who became employed |
| 63 | by either the Jacksonville Seaport Authority or the Jacksonville |
| 64 | Airport Authority on or after April 1, 2002, or who hereafter |
| 65 | becomes so employed, shall be ineligible to become a member of |
| 66 | the 1937 General Employees Pension Plan, and instead must join |
| 67 | the Florida Retirement System; and provided further, anything |
| 68 | above in this subsection to the contrary notwithstanding, that |
| 69 | any person who became employed by either the Seaport Authority |
| 70 | or the Airport Authority between October 1, 2001 and March 31, |
| 71 | 2002 and joined the fund as required under Ordinance 2001-838-E, |
| 72 | shall have a one-time option, as described further in Section |
| 73 | 120.105(e) of the Jacksonville Municipal Code, to elect within a |
| 74 | 60-day period to cease being a member of the fund and to join |
| 75 | the FRS. Credited service under the general employees retirement |
| 76 | and pension system of the City of Jacksonville shall commence |
| 77 | for all Jacksonville Seaport Authority or Jacksonville Airport |
| 78 | Authority employees on October 1, 2001 or their date of |
| 79 | employment (whichever is later), for those employees who elected |
| 80 | to join that plan prior to November 1, 2001 or who became |
| 81 | employed prior to April 1, 2002, and no employment service prior |
| 82 | to October 1, 2001 with the Jacksonville Port Authority may be |
| 83 | credited or otherwise eligible for service purchase under the |
| 84 | general employees retirement and pension system of the City of |
| 85 | Jacksonville. |
| 86 | (d) Any member of a retirement and pension system of the |
| 87 | city of a former government who subsequent to being made a |
| 88 | member of said system is employed to fill a position which is |
| 89 | not in the civil service system of the city may elect in writing |
| 90 | to terminate his membership in said retirement and pension |
| 91 | system to be effective no earlier than the date such written |
| 92 | election is filed with the trustees of said retirement and |
| 93 | pension system and thereupon being entitled to receive the |
| 94 | applicable refund, if any. However, any employee electing to |
| 95 | withdraw from said retirement or pension system shall not be |
| 96 | granted any credit for prior periods of service for the purpose |
| 97 | of pension benefits in the system from which he has withdrawn |
| 98 | his membership. |
| 99 | (e) A handicapped person shall be eligible to participate |
| 100 | in any retirement and pension plans described in this article. |
| 101 | However, said handicapped person, who shall be defined as having |
| 102 | any disability, infirmity, malformation, or disfigurement which |
| 103 | is caused by bodily injury, birth defect, or illness, including |
| 104 | epilepsy, shall be examined by a panel of two or more medical |
| 105 | physicians, who are specialists in the handicapped applicant's |
| 106 | particular disability. The examination shall be conducted |
| 107 | through the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation of the |
| 108 | Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services and paid for by |
| 109 | same. The panel shall determine the applicant's ability to |
| 110 | perform the duties required pertaining to the applied position |
| 111 | for a period of time not less than that required to obtain |
| 112 | minimum time service benefits with the City of Jacksonville. The |
| 113 | handicapped applicant shall be considered on the same basis as |
| 114 | any other applicant without discrimination or prejudice. If the |
| 115 | handicapped applicant, in the opinion of the medical panel |
| 116 | aforementioned, could not logically be expected to carry out the |
| 117 | requirements of the applied for position for a period of time |
| 118 | not less than that required to obtain minimum time service |
| 119 | benefits, he may be employed under the old age and survivors |
| 120 | insurance provisions, and shall not be required to be a member |
| 121 | of said retirement and pension system of the City of |
| 122 | Jacksonville. |
| 123 | (f) No handicapped applicant shall be entitled to benefits |
| 124 | under the retirement and pension system due to a disability |
| 125 | arising out of the handicapped applicant's existing condition |
| 126 | either directly or indirectly, which condition existed at the |
| 127 | time the handicapped applicant became a member of the retirement |
| 128 | and pension system. However, any contributions paid by the |
| 129 | handicapped employee into the retirement and pension fund shall |
| 130 | be refunded to said employee if the employee becomes disabled. |
| 131 | (g) Any employee of the City of Jacksonville on or before |
| 132 | June 30, 2004, who is a member of the general employees |
| 133 | retirement and pension system of the City of Jacksonville and |
| 134 | becomes employed by the First Coast Metropolitan Planning |
| 135 | Organization on or before July 1, 2004, may elect to remain a |
| 136 | member of the general employees retirement and pension system of |
| 137 | the City of Jacksonville by filing a written notice of election |
| 138 | with the trustees of the general employees retirement and |
| 139 | pension system of the City of Jacksonville not later than July |
| 140 | 1, 2004. The First Coast Metropolitan Planning Organization |
| 141 | shall make all appropriate employer contributions. |
| 142 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |