H. B. 2442


(By Delegates Schoonover and Campbell)
[Introduced March 2, 1993; referred to the
Committee on Finance.]




A BILL to amend and reenact section eighteen, article sixteen, chapter five, of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to public employees insurance; payment of costs by employer.

 Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eighteen, 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.

§5-16-18. Payment of costs by employer; schedule of insurance; special funds created; duties of treasurer with respect thereto.

All employers operating from state general revenue or special revenue funds or federal funds or any combination thereof shall budget the cost of insurance coverage provided by the public employees insurance agency to current and retired employees of the employer as a separate line item, titled "PEI",in its respective annual budget and shall be responsible for the transfer of funds to the director for the cost of insurance for employees covered by the plan. Each spending unit shall pay to the director its proportionate share from each source of funds. Any agency wishing to charge general revenue funds for insurance benefits for retirees under section thirteen of this article must provide documentation to the director that such benefits cannot be paid for by any special revenue account or that the retiring employee has been paid solely with general revenue funds for twelve months prior to retirement.
Should the General revenue appropriation for any employer, including a county board of education, must be insufficient sufficient to cover the cost of insurance coverage for such employer's participating employees, retired employees and surviving dependents. the employer shall pay the reminder of such cost from its "personal services" or "unclassified" line items or, in the case of a county board of education, from other funds: Provided, That local excess levy funds shall be used only for the purposes for which they were raised: Provided, however, That after approval of its annual financial plan but in no event later than the thirty-first day of December of each year, the finance board shall notify the Legislature and county boards of education of the maximum amount of employer premiums that the county boards of education will be required to pay for covered employees during the following fiscal year: Provided further, That said amount shall not exceed five million dollars during fiscal year onethousand nine hundred ninety-three: And provided further, That the finance board and department of education shall determine the extent to which state school aid appropriations are being used by the county school boards to pay employer premiums for employees whose positions are not funded by state revenues and shall develop and implement a plan to minimize such expenditures.
All other employers not operating from the state general revenue fund shall pay to the director their share of premium costs from their respective budgets. The finance board shall establish such employers' share of premium costs to reflect and pay the actual costs of such coverage including incurred but not reported claims.
The contribution of such other employers (namely: A county, city or town in the state; any separate corporation or instrumentality established by one or more counties, cities or towns, as permitted by law; any corporation or instrumentality supported in most part by counties, cities or towns; any public corporation charged by law with the performance of a governmental function and whose jurisdiction is coextensive with one or more counties, cities or towns; any comprehensive community mental health center or comprehensive mental retardation facility established, operated or licensed by the secretary of health and human resources pursuant to section one, article two-a, chapter twenty-seven of this code, and which is supported in part by state, county or municipal funds; and a combined city-county health department created pursuant to article two, chaptersixteen of the code) for their employees shall be such percentage of the cost of the employees' insurance package as the employers deem reasonable and proper under their own particular circumstances.
The employee's proportionate share of the premium or cost shall be withheld or deducted by the employer from such employee's salary or wages as and when paid and such sums shall be forwarded to the director with such supporting data as the director may require.
All moneys received by the public employees insurance agency shall be deposited in a special fund or funds as are necessary in the state treasury and the treasurer of the state shall be custodian of such fund or funds and shall administer such fund or funds in accordance with the provisions of this article or as the director may from time to time direct. The treasurer shall pay all warrants issued by the state auditor against such fund or funds as the director may direct in accordance with the provisions of this article. On and after the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight, all payments previously required to be made to the public employees insurance board shall be made to the public employees insurance agency.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to release county boards of education from paying PEIA premiums in the amount of five million dollars.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new languagethat would be added.