CS/HB 231

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to the City Pension Fund for Firefighters
3and Police Officers in the City of Tampa, Hillsborough
4County; authorizing the City of Tampa to enter into a
5supplemental contract with certain firefighters and police
6officers to comply with chapter 2009-97, Laws of Florida;
7revising the manner in which elective trustees are
8elected; increasing the maximum length of time prior to
9term commencement in which to conduct trustee elections;
10allowing the board to retain the services of more than one
11nationally recognized professional investment counselor;
12increasing the investment cap on foreign securities;
13providing that the investment cap on foreign securities is
14measured on a market value basis and may not be revised,
15amended, increased, or repealed except as provided by
16general law; allowing retired members to elect to receive
17a reduced retirement benefit in order to provide a
18surviving spouse benefit under certain circumstances;
19allowing members to purchase up to an additional 5 years
20of credited service based upon prior service as a full-
21time certified firefighter or certified police officer or
22for military service in the Armed Forces of the United
23States subject to certain conditions; allowing DROP
24participants upon entering DROP and annually thereafter to
25elect an option for accruing annual interest at a low-risk
26variable rate selected annually by the board of trustees,
27in its sole discretion, in lieu of a rate reflecting the
28fund's net investment performance, as determined by the
29board of trustees; prohibiting members from selecting
30certain pension contract changes and rejecting others;
31confirming in part the City of Tampa Firefighters and
32Police Officers Pension Contract; providing for
33severability; providing an effective date.
34
35Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
36
37     Section 1.  The City of Tampa is authorized and empowered
38to enter into a supplemental contract with each firefighter or
39police officer who was an active member of the City Pension Fund
40for Firefighters and Police Officers in the City of Tampa on or
41after the date this act becomes a law, or each firefighter or
42police officer who hereafter enters into a pension contract with
43the City, to comply with chapter 2009-97, Laws of Florida.
44     Section 2.  Section 5(C), Section 6, Section 9(C), Section
4517, and Section 26(D) of the City of Tampa Firefighters and
46Police Officers Pension Contract as prescribed by Section 28-17
47of the City of Tampa Code [Ordinance No. 4746-A, enacted
48September 30, 1969], as amended by Section 28-19 of the City of
49Tampa Code [Ordinance No. 6038-A, enacted September 17, 1974],
50pursuant to chapter 74-613, Laws of Florida, as further amended
51by Ordinance No. 89-314, enacted December 21, 1989, and
52approved, ratified, validated, and confirmed by chapter 90-391,
53Laws of Florida, as further amended by chapter 92-231, Laws of
54Florida, chapter 94-463, Laws of Florida, chapter 98-515, Laws
55of Florida, chapter 2000-485, Laws of Florida, Ordinance No.
562001-133, enacted July 3, 2001, chapter 2001-288, Laws of
57Florida, chapter 2002-369, Laws of Florida, Ordinance No. 2003-
5822, enacted January 23, 2003, chapter 2004-427, Laws of Florida,
59and chapter 2007-304, Laws of Florida, are amended to read:
60     SECTION 5.  The general administration and responsibility
61for the proper operation of the pension system and for making
62effective the provisions of this Act are hereby vested in a
63board consisting of nine persons, as follows:
64     (1)  Three members of the City Administration other than
65firefighters or police officers to be appointed as hereinafter
66provided;
67     (2)  Three members of the Fire Department to be elected as
68hereinafter provided; and
69     (3)  Three members of the Police Department to be elected
70as hereinafter provided.
71     (C)  The elective trustees shall be elected in the following
72manner, to wit: by per capita vote of all members of each of said
73respective departments who come within the purview of this Act,
74both active and retired, at elections meetings to be held at
75places designated by the Board, at which elections meetings all
76qualified members entitled to vote shall be notified in person or
77by mail ten days in advance of said election meeting. The
78candidate receiving the majority of votes for each office shall
79be declared elected and shall take office immediately upon
80commencement of the term of office for which elected or as soon
81thereafter as he shall qualify therefor. An election shall be
82held each year not more than sixty (60) thirty (30) and not less
83than ten (10) days prior to the commencement of the terms for
84which trustees are to be elected in that year. The Board of
85Trustees shall meet, organize, and elect one trustee as chairman,
86one trustee as vice chairman, and one trustee as secretary within
87ten days after any trustees are elected and duly qualified.
88     SECTION 6.  Money shall be withdrawn from the Pension Fund
89created by this Act only upon warrants executed by a majority of
90the Board of Trustees. Monies needed for the meeting of the
91current obligations of said fund may be deposited in a
92depository recognized by law for the deposit of funds of the
93State of Florida and upon the posting of similar security for
94that required for state deposits. The Board shall have exclusive
95charge of the investment of any surplus in said fund not needed
96for the current obligations thereof; and said funds shall be
97managed by said Board and shall be invested by said Board in
98accordance with the following:
99     (1)  That the Board shall retain the services of one or more
100a nationally recognized professional investment counselors
101counsel.
102     (2)  That not less than once every six (6) months a written
103opinion shall be obtained from the investment counselor or
104counselors counsel as to the overall condition and composition of
105the investment portfolio.
106     (3)  That the portfolio, representing the principal or
107surplus funds of the Pension Fund may be invested in the
108following securities or other property, real or personal,
109including, but without being limited to, bonds, notes, or other
110evidences of indebtedness issued, or assumed or guaranteed in
111whole or in part by the United States or any of its agencies or
112instrumentalities; or by any foreign government or political
113subdivisions or agencies thereof; or by the State of Florida, or
114by any county, city, school district, municipal corporation, or
115other political subdivision of the State of Florida, both general
116and revenue obligations; in mortgages and other interests in
117realty; or in such corporation bonds, notes, or other evidences
118of indebtedness, and corporation stocks including common and
119preferred stocks, of any corporation created or existing under
120the laws of the United States or any of the states of the United
121States, or of any foreign government or political subdivisions or
122agencies thereof, provided that in making each and all of such
123investments the Board of Trustees shall exercise the judgment and
124care under the circumstances then prevailing which men of
125ordinary prudence, discretion, and intelligence exercise in the
126management of their own affairs, not in regard to speculation but
127in regard to the permanent disposition of their funds,
128considering the probable income therefrom as well as probable
129safety of their capital; provided, however, that not more than
130sixty-five per centum (65%) of said fund, based on the total book
131value of all investments held, shall be invested at any given
132time in common stocks, and that not more than five per centum
133(5%) of said fund shall be invested at any given time in
134preferred and common, or either, stock of any one corporation
135and its affiliates and that not more than twenty-five per centum
136(25%) ten per centum (10%) of said fund, based on the total market
137book value of all investments held, shall be invested at any given
138time in the bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness of
139any foreign government or political subdivisions or agencies
140thereof or corporations created or existing under the laws
141thereof. The investment cap on foreign securities may not be
142revised, amended, increased, or repealed except as provided by
143general law.
144     SECTION 9.  To the widow or widower (until death or
145remarriage) and child or children (under the age of eighteen
146(18) years), until death or marriage before reaching the age of
147eighteen (18) years, of any member who dies from causes not
148attributed to his active duties in the departments, provided,
149however, that such member shall have been a member of such
150department for ten (10) years prior to the date of his death,
151the Trustees shall authorize and direct payment in equal monthly
152installments as follows:
153     (C)(1)  The widow or widower of a member who dies while
154receiving a retirement pension shall receive sixty-five per
155centum (65%) of the pension which the member was receiving;
156provided, however, that no pension shall be allowed to any widow
157or widower unless she or he was married to the member prior to
158the date of retirement of the member, except as provided in
159paragraph (2). For the widow or widower of any member of this
160Pension Fund who prior to October 16, 1992 was a member of
161Division B of the General Employees Pension Plan as established
162by Chapter 81-497, Laws of Florida, as amended, upon the
163reaching social security normal retirement age, except as
164provided in Section 28(C) of this Contract, the benefit paid to
165the widow or widower shall be reduced by an amount equal to the
166actual social security benefit earned by the member for
167employment as a firefighter or police officer for the City to
168the extent that such employment is considered to be creditable
169service under this Fund; provided, however, that if the widow or
170widower does not receive the member's accrued social security
171benefit, there shall be no reduction in benefits paid to such
172widow or widower. The effect of such reduction shall be that the
173sum of the benefit paid herein and said social security benefit
174shall be equal to the amount of the benefit otherwise payable
175herein. The widow or widower of each such member shall, upon
176demand by the Board, authorize the Social Security
177Administration to release any information necessary to calculate
178such reduction. The Board shall not make any payment for the
179benefit payable herein for any period during which such widow or
180widower willfully fails or refuses to authorize the release of
181such information in the manner and within the time prescribed by
182rules adopted by the Board.
183     (2)(a)  Members (i) who have been retired for less than
184forty (40) years as of the effective date of this act, (ii) who
185retired or entered DROP prior to October 1, 2002, and (iii) who
186married or remarried after the date of the member's retirement
187may elect prospectively to receive a voluntarily reduced
188retirement benefit payable to the widow or widower. The amount
189of the widow or widower's benefit will be based on the actuarial
190equivalence calculated by the Fund's actuary, and such benefit
191shall not result in any additional cost to the Fund or to the
192plan sponsor than would have been incurred if the member had not
193elected such benefit under this paragraph. Said actuarial
194calculation shall be paid for by the retired member.
195     (b)  The election under subparagraph (a) is available only
196if (i) the spouse is not more than twenty (20) years younger
197than the married or remarried member, (ii) the marriage or
198remarriage occurred at least three (3) years prior to the
199member's said election, and (iii) the electing member is
200restricted to exercising this provision for a maximum of two
201remarriages after retirement.
202     SECTION 17.  COMPUTATION OF PENSION SERVICES AND PURCHASE
203OF PAST CREDITED SERVICE.
204     (A)  In computing service allowance, creditable service
205shall include all service or employment of the member in the
206Fire or Police Department, either continuous or interrupted,
207provided, however, that any leave of absence without pay shall
208not be included. Credited service shall include credit for up to
209five (5) years of the time spent in the military service of the
210Armed Forces of the United States if the member is in the active
211employ of the City of Tampa immediately prior to such service
212and leaves a permanent, full-time position as a firefighter or
213police officer with the City of Tampa for the purpose of
214voluntary or involuntary service in the Armed Forces of the
215United States. The member must be entitled to re-employment
216under the provisions of the Uniformed Services Employment and
217Re-Employment Rights Act (USERRA). In order to be eligible for
218the benefits of this section, a member must return to employment
219as a firefighter or a police officer of the City of Tampa within
220one (1) year from the date of release of such active service.
221Pension contributions shall not be required for military service
222as described in this section, unless permitted by the Florida
223Statutes. The provision of this section shall not apply to
224temporary service for reserve training. No credited service
225shall be given for military service prior to employment or for
226service as a firefighter or police officer for any other
227employer. However, the amount of any pension or compensation
228that may be received from the Federal Government on account of
229disability from such service shall be deducted from the amount
230of any pension due under this Act. The deduction of the amount
231of any pension or compensation received from the Federal
232Government shall be made only where the period of military
233service (not exceeding five (5) years) is added to the period of
234actual service of the member in either the Fire or Police
235Department in order to make up the required number of years for
236retirement on a City pension; that the disability for which any
237pension or compensation is received from the Federal Government
238shall be only such disability that was incurred in the military
239service during the same period of military service used by the
240member to add to his actual service in the Police or Fire
241Departments in order to make up the number of years required for
242retirement on a City pension; and that no deduction of the
243amount of any pension or compensation received from the Federal
244Government can or shall be made from the amount of any City
245pension granted solely on account of disability. Any member who,
246in order to perform such active military service, has left his
247employment in the Police or Fire Departments of the City of
248Tampa and (a) who received a certificate of honorable discharge
249upon completion of such active military service, (b) is still
250qualified to perform the duties of such position, (c) makes or
251shall have made application for reemployment within thirty (30)
252days after he is released from active military service, shall be
253restored by the Police or Fire Department of the City of Tampa
254to such position or a position of like seniority, status and
255pay.
256     (B)  Immediately upon the passage of this Act the Board of
257Trustees shall at once establish the service record of all
258employees, who may be entitled to participate in the benefits of
259this Act, and shall keep a record thereof.
260     (C)  For each firefighter and police officer who on October
26115, 1992 was not a member of this Pension Fund, but who was a
262member of Division B of the General Employees Pension Plan as
263established by Chapter 81-497, Laws of Florida, as amended, who
264elects to join this pension fund, for purposes of determining
265eligibility for any benefit in which length of service is a
266factor, the entire period of time served as a firefighter or
267police officer with the City of Tampa, either continuous or
268interrupted, shall be included; provided, however, that any
269leave of absence without pay shall not be included unless
270required by applicable law, any service as a police recruit
271shall not be included, and any service in which the firefighter
272or police officer withdrew his/her contributions shall not be
273included. Active military service shall be included to the
274extent required by law.
275     (D)  A member who has separated from service as a
276firefighter or police officer and who has taken a refund of his
277pension contributions, who is later readmitted to the Fund,
278shall have the option of purchasing past creditable service.
279     (1)  The readmitted member shall make the election in
280writing to purchase past creditable service on a form prescribed
281by the Board within 90 days of readmission, which election shall
282be legally binding.
283     (2)  The readmitted member who elects to purchase past
284creditable service shall repay the withdrawn contributions with
285interest at the actuarially assumed rate of return of the Fund
286within 90 days of the later of, readmission or receipt of
287written notification from the Board of the amount due. Interest
288shall be calculated from the date of withdrawal to the date of
289repayment at the actuarially assumed rate of return of the Fund.
290     (3)  A member who fails to pay withdrawn contributions with
291interest as provided in this subsection within 90 days of the
292later of, readmission or receipt of written notification from
293the Board of the amount due, shall not receive creditable
294service for the period of time for which the withdrawn
295contributions apply.
296     (E)  All active police officer or firefighter members shall
297be permitted to purchase up to an additional five (5) years of
298credited service based upon (i) service as a full-time certified
299firefighter or certified police officer employed by a city,
300county, state, federal, or other public agency, or (ii) military
301service in the Armed Forces of the United States. Temporary,
302auxiliary, reserve, volunteer, or private agency service shall
303not apply. Service credit purchased under the provisions of this
304section shall not count for vesting purposes.
305     (1)  Prior service shall not be granted until the member
306has paid to the Pension Fund the actuarial cost of the service
307purchased, as determined by the actuary for the Plan. Said
308actuarial calculation shall be paid for by the member. Members
309purchasing service credit shall provide the Board of Trustees
310with proof of prior service with honorable separation. No
311service credit may be purchased if the member is receiving or
312will receive any other retirement benefit based on this service,
313except in the case of a military pension.
314     (2)  The contribution by the member of the actuarially
315determined cost of the buyback may be made in one lump sum or
316may be made by payroll deductions in installments for a period
317of time which shall not exceed the number of years being
318purchased. A member electing to make installment payments shall
319be charged interest based on the actuarially assumed rate of
320return for the Plan. A member making installment payments shall
321complete all required payments prior to payment of any benefit
322under this section.
323     (3)  A member who terminates service prior to vesting in
324the Plan shall be entitled to a refund, without interest, of all
325money paid to buy back prior military, firefighter, or police
326officer service.
327     SECTION 26.  DEFERRED RETIREMENT OPTION PROGRAM
328     Notwithstanding any other provisions of this contract, and
329subject to the provisions of this section, the Deferred
330Retirement Option Program, hereinafter referred to as the DROP,
331is an option under which an eligible member may elect to have
332the member's pension benefits calculated as of a certain date
333prior to retirement, and accumulate benefits plus the investment
334return pursuant to this section during the DROP calculation
335period. Participation in the DROP does not guarantee employment
336for the DROP calculation period, as defined in this section.
337     (D)  Interest and Administrative Costs - Interest shall
338accumulate annually at the rate to reflect the Fund's net
339investment performance, whether positive or negative, during the
340DROP calculation period, less the cost of administering the
341DROP, all of which shall be determined by the Board of Trustees.
342A DROP participant shall have the opportunity to elect, as
343provided in this subsection, an investment option to be applied
344to such DROP participant's account for the Plan Year when
345entering the DROP and for each subsequent Plan Year. In such
346election, the DROP participant shall choose to have interest
347accumulate annually, whether positive or negative, at either (i)
348a rate reflecting the Fund's net investment performance, as
349determined by the Board of Trustees, or (ii) a rate reflecting a
350low-risk variable rate selected annually by the Board of
351Trustees in its sole discretion. Each election must be made at
352such time, on such forms, and in such manner as the Board of
353Trustees may determine in its sole discretion. If the DROP
354participant fails to make a valid election upon entering the
355DROP, the Fund interest rate shall be applied as provided
356herein. If the DROP participant fails to make a valid election
357in a subsequent Plan Year, the election for the then-current
358Plan Year shall be applied.
359     Section 3.  The changes to the pension contract in this act
360for firefighters and police officers who are active members of
361the City Pension Fund for Firefighters and Police Officers in
362the City of Tampa on or after the date this act becomes a law
363shall be made available in a supplemental pension contract, and
364an individual shall not be permitted to select some of the
365pension contract changes and reject other pension contract
366changes. Any firefighter or police officer who is entitled to
367benefits under the City Pension Fund for Firefighters and Police
368Officers in the City of Tampa who is actively employed as a
369firefighter or police officer in the City of Tampa on or after
370the date this act becomes a law shall have the opportunity to
371sign such supplemental pension contract before October 1, 2011.
372However, any person who becomes a member of the City Pension
373Fund for Firefighters and Police Officers in the City of Tampa
374on or after the date this act becomes a law shall be required as
375a condition of membership into said Pension Fund to sign a
376pension contract which includes the provisions of this act and
377shall be required to make contributions if required as a result
378of such benefits.
379     Section 4.  The City of Tampa Firefighters and Police
380Officers Pension Contract as prescribed by Section 28-17 of the
381City of Tampa Code [Ordinance No. 4746-A, enacted September 30,
3821969], as amended by Section 28-19 of the City of Tampa Code
383[Ordinance No. 6038-A, enacted September 17, 1974], pursuant to
384chapter 74-613, Laws of Florida, as further amended by Ordinance
385No. 89-314, enacted December 21, 1989, and approved, ratified,
386validated, and confirmed by chapter 90-391, Laws of Florida, as
387further amended by chapter 92-231, Laws of Florida, chapter 94-
388463, Laws of Florida, chapter 98-515, Laws of Florida, chapter
3892000-485, Laws of Florida, Ordinance No. 2001-133, enacted July
3903, 2001, chapter 2001-288, Laws of Florida, chapter 2002-369,
391Laws of Florida, Ordinance No. 2003-22, enacted January 23,
3922003, chapter 2004-427, Laws of Florida, and chapter 2007-304,
393Laws of Florida, is in all other respects approved, ratified,
394validated, and confirmed.
395     Section 5.  If any provision of this act or its application
396to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity
397does not affect other provisions or applications of the act
398which can be given effect without the invalid provision or
399application, and to this end the provisions of this act are
400severable.
401     Section 6.  This act shall take effect October 1, 2011.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.