Senate Bill sb0688

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 688

    By Senator Lynn





    7-200-05

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the Florida Retirement

  3         System; amending s. 121.055, F.S.; permitting

  4         community college employees who are members of

  5         the Senior Management Service Class, and who

  6         otherwise qualify, to elect membership in the

  7         defined benefit plan of the system; prescribing

  8         requirements in making such election; providing

  9         for payment of the costs of such membership;

10         providing an effective date.

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12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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14         Section 1.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section

15  121.055, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

16         121.055  Senior Management Service Class.--There is

17  hereby established a separate class of membership within the

18  Florida Retirement System to be known as the "Senior

19  Management Service Class," which shall become effective

20  February 1, 1987.

21         (1)

22         (b)1.  Except as provided in subparagraph 2., effective

23  January 1, 1990, participation in the Senior Management

24  Service Class shall be compulsory for the president of each

25  community college, the manager of each participating city or

26  county, and all appointed district school superintendents.

27  Effective January 1, 1994, additional positions may be

28  designated for inclusion in the Senior Management Service

29  Class of the Florida Retirement System, provided that:

30         a.  Positions to be included in the class shall be

31  designated by the local agency employer.  Notice of intent to

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 688
    7-200-05




 1  designate positions for inclusion in the class shall be

 2  published once a week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper

 3  of general circulation published in the county or counties

 4  affected, as provided in chapter 50.

 5         b.  Up to 10 nonelective full-time positions may be

 6  designated for each local agency employer reporting to the

 7  Department of Management Services; for local agencies with 100

 8  or more regularly established positions, additional

 9  nonelective full-time positions may be designated, not to

10  exceed 1 percent of the regularly established positions within

11  the agency.

12         c.  Each position added to the class must be a

13  managerial or policymaking position filled by an employee who

14  is not subject to continuing contract and serves at the

15  pleasure of the local agency employer without civil service

16  protection, and who:

17         (I)  Heads an organizational unit; or

18         (II)  Has responsibility to effect or recommend

19  personnel, budget, expenditure, or policy decisions in his or

20  her areas of responsibility.

21         2.  In lieu of participation in the Senior Management

22  Service Class, members of the Senior Management Service Class

23  pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph 1. may withdraw

24  from the Florida Retirement System altogether. The decision to

25  withdraw from the Florida Retirement System shall be

26  irrevocable for as long as the employee holds such a position.

27  Any service creditable under the Senior Management Service

28  Class shall be retained after the member withdraws from the

29  Florida Retirement System; however, additional service credit

30  in the Senior Management Service Class shall not be earned

31  after such withdrawal.  Such members shall not be eligible to

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 688
    7-200-05




 1  participate in the Senior Management Service Optional Annuity

 2  Program.

 3         3.  Effective July 1, 2005, any active community

 4  college employee in a regularly established senior management

 5  position who has not participated in the Florida Retirement

 6  System or has withdrawn from the Florida Retirement System

 7  under subparagraph 2. has one opportunity to choose to move to

 8  the Florida Retirement System defined benefit plan. This

 9  election is irrevocable.

10         a.  The election must be made in writing and must be

11  filed with the department and with the personnel officer of

12  the community college.

13         b.  The employee shall receive service credit in the

14  Florida Retirement System defined benefit program equal to his

15  or her years of service in the community college system. The

16  cost of such credit shall be an amount representing the

17  present value of that employee's accumulated benefit

18  obligation under the Florida Retirement System defined benefit

19  program for the affected period of service.

20         c.  The employee must transfer the total accumulated

21  employer contributions and earnings on deposit in the

22  employee's alternative retirement plan established as allowed

23  under subparagraph 2. If the transferred amount is not

24  sufficient to pay the amount due, the remainder must be paid

25  by the employee unless it is paid by the employer on behalf of

26  the employee.

27         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 688
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 1            *****************************************

 2                          SENATE SUMMARY

 3    Allows a community college employee who occupies a senior
      management position but who does not participate in, or
 4    has withdrawn from, the Florida Retirement System to join
      the system's defined benefit plan. Such a person has one
 5    opportunity to make the election, which is irrevocable.
      If the accumulated employer contributions, plus earnings
 6    on deposit, for the employee are insufficient to pay the
      cost of crediting the employee's defined benefit plan
 7    based on his or her years of service, the employee must
      make up the difference unless that amount is paid by his
 8    or her employer.

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