COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

H. B. 4517

(By Delegates Hendricks, Facemyer, Smith,
H. White and Wallace)


(Originating in the Committee on Finance)


[March 3, 1994]

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 requiring a study of 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 of education, 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, its boards, 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.
Prior to the fifteenth day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five, the public employees insurance agency, with the cooperation of the consolidated public retirement board, shall report to the governor, the Speaker of the House of Delegates and the President of the Senate on the cost of providing health care insurance coverage to retired state, county and municipal employees. The public employees insurance agency shall be authorized to collect, and the county, municipality or state agency shall provide information regarding the type of insurance coverage currently provided to employees and such other information as the public employees insurance agency requires to complete the required report. The report will also include an analysis of the cost of subsidizing health insurance premiums by years of credited service which may be utilized by the covered employee for eligibility for retirement. To the extent possible, the report will identify for each retiree the years of credited service with the state, a municipality or a county: Provided, That if specific information is not available then the average service of the state, municipalities and counties will be provided.