Florida Senate - 2012 CS for SB 2088
By the Committees on Governmental Oversight and Accountability;
and Governmental Oversight and Accountability
585-02802-12 20122088c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to public retirement plans; amending
3 s. 175.351, F.S.; revising provisions relating to
4 benefits paid from the premium tax by a municipality
5 or special fire control district that has its own
6 pension plan; providing for retroactive application;
7 amending s. 185.02, F.S.; revising the definition of
8 the term “compensation” or “salary” for purposes of
9 police officers’ pensions; amending s. 185.35, F.S.;
10 revising provisions relating to benefits paid by a
11 municipality that has its own pension plan; providing
12 for retroactive application; providing a declaration
13 of important state interest; providing an effective
14 date.
15
16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18 Section 1. Subsection (6) is added to section 175.351,
19 Florida Statutes, to read:
20 175.351 Municipalities and special fire control districts
21 having their own pension plans for firefighters.—For any
22 municipality, special fire control district, local law
23 municipality, local law special fire control district, or local
24 law plan under this chapter, in order for municipalities and
25 special fire control districts with their own pension plans for
26 firefighters, or for firefighters and police officers if
27 included, to participate in the distribution of the tax fund
28 established pursuant to s. 175.101, local law plans must meet
29 the minimum benefits and minimum standards set forth in this
30 chapter.
31 (6) Notwithstanding any other provision, with respect to
32 any plan established under this chapter, if the municipality or
33 special fire control district and the plan members’ collective
34 bargaining representative or, if none, a majority of the plan
35 members, mutually consent to the retirement benefits provided in
36 the plan or to the use of income from the premium tax provided
37 pursuant to this chapter, the provisions of the agreement shall
38 be deemed to comply with this chapter for retirement purposes.
39 This subsection is retroactive in application to any agreement
40 entered into or effective on or after October 1, 2010.
41 Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 185.02, Florida
42 Statutes, is amended to read:
43 185.02 Definitions.—For any municipality, chapter plan,
44 local law municipality, or local law plan under this chapter,
45 the following words and phrases as used in this chapter shall
46 have the following meanings, unless a different meaning is
47 plainly required by the context:
48 (4) “Compensation” or “salary” means, for noncollectively
49 bargained service earned before July 1, 2011, or for service
50 earned under collective bargaining agreements in place before
51 July 1, 2011, the total cash remuneration including “overtime”
52 paid by the primary employer to a police officer for services
53 rendered, but not including any payments for extra duty or
54 special detail work performed on behalf of a second party
55 employer. A local law plan may limit the amount of overtime
56 payments which can be used for retirement benefit calculation
57 purposes; however, such overtime limit may not be less than 300
58 hours per officer per calendar year unless a smaller number of
59 hours is mutually agreed to by the collective bargaining
60 representative and municipality. For noncollectively bargained
61 service earned on or after July 1, 2011, or for service earned
62 under collective bargaining agreements entered into on or after
63 July 1, 2011, the term has the same meaning except that when
64 calculating retirement benefits, up to 300 hours per year in
65 overtime compensation may be included unless a smaller number of
66 hours is mutually agreed to by a majority of the plan members
67 and the municipality as specified in the plan or collective
68 bargaining agreement, but payments for accrued unused sick or
69 annual leave may not be included.
70 (a) Any retirement trust fund or plan that meets the
71 requirements of this chapter does not, solely by virtue of this
72 subsection, reduce or diminish the monthly retirement income
73 otherwise payable to each police officer covered by the
74 retirement trust fund or plan.
75 (b) The member’s compensation or salary contributed as
76 employee-elective salary reductions or deferrals to any salary
77 reduction, deferred compensation, or tax-sheltered annuity
78 program authorized under the Internal Revenue Code shall be
79 deemed to be the compensation or salary the member would receive
80 if he or she were not participating in such program and shall be
81 treated as compensation for retirement purposes under this
82 chapter.
83 (c) For any person who first becomes a member in any plan
84 year beginning on or after January 1, 1996, compensation for
85 that plan year may not include any amounts in excess of the
86 Internal Revenue Code s. 401(a)(17) limitation, as amended by
87 the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, which limitation
88 of $150,000 shall be adjusted as required by federal law for
89 qualified government plans and shall be further adjusted for
90 changes in the cost of living in the manner provided by Internal
91 Revenue Code s. 401(a)(17)(B). For any person who first became a
92 member before the first plan year beginning on or after January
93 1, 1996, the limitation on compensation may not be less than the
94 maximum compensation amount that was allowed to be taken into
95 account under the plan as in effect on July 1, 1993, which
96 limitation shall be adjusted for changes in the cost of living
97 since 1989 in the manner provided by Internal Revenue Code s.
98 401(a)(17)(1991).
99 Section 3. Subsection (6) is added to section 185.35,
100 Florida Statutes, to read:
101 185.35 Municipalities having their own pension plans for
102 police officers.—For any municipality, chapter plan, local law
103 municipality, or local law plan under this chapter, in order for
104 municipalities with their own pension plans for police officers,
105 or for police officers and firefighters if included, to
106 participate in the distribution of the tax fund established
107 pursuant to s. 185.08, local law plans must meet the minimum
108 benefits and minimum standards set forth in this chapter:
109 (6) Notwithstanding any other provision, with respect to
110 any plan established under this chapter, if the municipality and
111 the plan members’ collective bargaining representative or, if
112 none, a majority of the plan members, mutually consent to the
113 retirement benefits provided in the plan or to the use of income
114 from the premium tax provided pursuant to this chapter, the
115 provisions of the agreement shall be deemed to comply with this
116 chapter for retirement purposes. This subsection is retroactive
117 in application to any agreement entered into or effective on or
118 after October 1, 2010.
119 Section 4. The Legislature finds that a proper and
120 legitimate state purpose is served when employees and retirees
121 of the state and its political subdivisions, and the dependents,
122 survivors, and beneficiaries of such employees and retirees, are
123 extended the basic protections afforded by governmental
124 retirement systems that provide fair and adequate benefits and
125 that are managed, administered, and funded in an actuarially
126 sound manner as required by s. 14, Article X of the State
127 Constitution and part VII of chapter 112, Florida Statutes.
128 Therefore, the Legislature determines and declares that this act
129 fulfills an important state interest.
130 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.