H. B. 2161
(By Delegate Carper)
[Introduced February 18, 1993; referred to the
Committee on Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-two, article sixteen,
chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to permissive
participation in the West Virginia public employees
insurance act; and removing the requirement that any
employer must make contributions for the coverage of its
retired employees.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-two, article sixteen, chapter five of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 16. WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES INSURANCE ACT.
§5-16-22. Permissive participation; exemptions.
The provisions of this article shall not be mandatory upon
any employee or employer who is not an employee of or is not the
state of West Virginia, its boards, agencies, commissions,
departments, institutions or spending units or a county board ofeducation, and nothing contained in this article shall be
construed so as to compel any employee or employer to enroll in
or subscribe to any insurance plan authorized by the provisions
of this article.
Those employees enrolled in the insurance program authorized
under the provisions of article two-b, chapter twenty-one-a of
this code shall not be required to enroll in or subscribe to an
insurance plan or plans authorized by the provisions of this
article, and the employees of any department which has an
existing insurance program for its employees to which the
government of the United States contributes any part or all of
the premium or cost thereof may be exempted from the provisions
of this article. Any employee or employer exempted under the
provisions of this paragraph may enroll in any insurance program
authorized by the provisions of this article at any time, to the
same extent as any other qualified employee or employer, but any
such employee or employer shall not remain enrolled in both such
programs. The provisions of articles fourteen, fifteen and
sixteen, chapter thirty-three of this code, relating to group
life insurance, accident and sickness insurance, and group
accident and sickness insurance, shall not be applicable to the
provisions of this article whenever the provisions of said
articles and chapter are in conflict with or contrary to any
provision set forth herein or to any plan or plans established by
the public employees insurance agency.
Employers, other than the state of West Virginia, itsboards, agencies, commissions, departments, institutions,
spending units, or a county board of education shall be exempt
from participating in the insurance program provided for by the
provisions of this article unless participation by the employer
has been approved by a majority vote of the employer's governing
body. It shall be the duty of the clerk or secretary of the
governing body of an employer who by such majority vote becomes
a participant in the insurance program to notify the director not
later than ten days after such vote.
Any employer, whether such employer participates in the
public employees insurance agency insurance program as a group or
not, which has retired employees, their dependents, or surviving
dependents of deceased retired employees who participate in the
public employees insurance agency insurance program as authorized
by this article, shall pay to the agency the same contribution
toward the cost of coverage for its retired employees, their
dependents, or surviving dependents of deceased retired employees
as the state of West Virginia, its boards, agencies, commissions,
departments, institutions, spending units, or a county board of
education pay for their retired employees, their dependents, and
surviving dependents of deceased retired employees, as determined
by the finance board. Each employer is hereby authorized and
required to budget for and make such payments.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to remove the requirement
that any employer, whether a participant in the West VirginiaPublic Employees Insurance Act, is required to make contributions
to PEIA for the cost of coverage for its retired employees.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.