Senate Bill No. 258
(By Senators Wagner and Dalton)
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[Introduced February 3, 1994; referred to the Committee
on Banking and Insurance; and then to the Committee on
Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section thirteen, article sixteen,
chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to retirees having
the option of applying a percentage of their accrued annual
leave and sick leave to insurance coverage and a percentage
toward extended service credit; allowing retirees to pay the
same premium as current employees; having county boards pay
the premium; and the retirees reimbursing the board for the
premium.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section thirteen, 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.
§5-16-13. Payment of costs by employer and employee; coverage
for employee's spouse and dependents generally; short termcontinuance of coverage for involuntary employee
termination; extended insurance coverage for retired
employees with accrued annual leave and sick leave;
increased retirement benefits for retired employees with
accrued annual and sick leave; additional eligible retired
employees; option for health insurance coverage without life
insurance coverage made available to retirees; health
insurance for surviving dependents of deceased employees.
(a) The director is hereby authorized to provide under any
contract or contracts entered into under the provisions of this
article that the costs of any such group hospital and surgical
insurance, group major medical insurance, group prescription drug
insurance, group life and accidental death insurance benefit plan
or plans may be paid by the employer and employee. In addition,
each employee shall be entitled to have his or her spouse and
dependents, as defined by the rules and regulations of the public
employees insurance agency, included in any group hospital and
surgical insurance, group major medical insurance or group
prescription drug insurance coverage: Provided, That such spouse
and dependent coverage shall be limited to excess or secondary
coverage for each spouse and dependent who has primary coverage
from any other source. For purposes of this section, the term
"primary coverage" means individual or group hospital and
surgical insurance coverage or individual or group major medical
insurance coverage or group prescription drug coverage in which
the spouse or dependent is the named insured or certificateholder. The director may require proof regarding spouse and
dependent primary coverage and shall adopt rules and regulations
governing the nature, discontinuance and resumption of any
employee's coverage for his or her spouse and dependents.
(b) Should a participating employee be terminated from
employment involuntarily or in reduction of work force, the
employee's insurance coverage provided under this article shall
continue for a period of three months at no additional cost to
the employee: Provided, That an employee discharged for
misconduct shall not be eligible for extended benefits under this
section: Provided, however, That coverage may be extended up to
the maximum period of three months, while administrative remedies
contesting the charge of misconduct are pursued: Provided
further, That should the discharge for misconduct be upheld, the
full cost of the extended coverage shall be reimbursed by the
employee. If the employee is again employed or recalled to
active employment within twelve months of his or her prior
termination, he or she shall not be considered a new enrollee and
shall not be required to again contribute his or her share of the
premium cost, if he or she had already fully contributed such
share during the prior period of employment.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (f) for
higher education full-time faculty employed on an annual contract
basis other than for twelve months, when a participating
employee, who has elected to participate in the plan before the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight, iscompelled or required by law to retire before reaching the age of
sixty-five, or when a participating employee voluntarily retires
as provided by law, that employee's accrued annual leave and sick
leave, if any, shall be credited toward an extension of the
insurance coverage provided by this article, according to the
following formulae: Such insurance coverage for a retired
employee shall continue one additional month for every two days
of annual leave or sick leave, or both, which the employee had
accrued as of the effective date of his or her retirement. For
a retired employee, his or her spouse and dependents, such
insurance coverage shall continue one additional month for every
three days of annual leave or sick leave, or both, which the
employee had accrued as of the effective date of his or her
retirement.
(d) Notwithstanding the preceding subsection, except as
otherwise provided in subsection (f) for higher education full-
time faculty employed on an annual contract basis other than for
twelve months, when a participating employee who elects to
participate in the plan on and after the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred eighty-eight, is compelled or required by
law to retire before reaching the age of sixty-five, or when such
a participating employee voluntarily retires as provided by law,
that employee's annual leave or sick leave, if any, shall be
credited toward one half of the premium cost of the insurance
provided by this article, for periods and scope of coverage
determined according to the following formulae: (1) Oneadditional month of single retiree coverage for every two days of
annual leave or sick leave, or both, which the employee had
accrued as of the effective date of his or her retirement; or (2)
one additional month of coverage for a retiree, his or her spouse
and dependents for every three days of annual leave or sick
leave, or both, which the employee had accrued as of the
effective date of his or her retirement. The remaining premium
cost shall be borne by such retired employee if he or she elects
such coverage. For purposes of this subsection, an employee who
has been a participant under spouse or dependent coverage and who
reenters the plan within twelve months after termination of his
or her prior coverage shall be considered to have elected to
participate in the plan as of the date of commencement of the
prior coverage. For purposes of this subsection, an employee
shall not be considered a new employee after returning from
extended authorized leave on or after the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred eighty-eight.
(e) In the alternative to the extension of insurance
coverage through premium payment provided in the two preceding
subsections, on and after the first day of July, one thousand
nine hundred eighty-eight, the participating employee's accrued
annual leave and sick leave may be applied, on the basis of two
days retirement service credit for each one day of accrued annual
and sick leave, toward an increase in the employee's retirement
benefits with such days constituting additional credited service
in computation of such benefits under any state retirementsystem. However, such credited service shall not be used in
meeting initial eligibility for retirement criteria, but only as
additional service credited in excess thereof: Provided, That an
employee may, upon retirement, elect to apply a percentage of his
or her accrued annual and sick leave, if any, toward insurance
coverage and the remaining percentage toward extended service
credit.
(f) When a participating employee, who is a higher education
full-time faculty member employed on an annual contract basis
other than for twelve months, is compelled or required by law to
retire, on or after the first day of August, one thousand nine
hundred eighty-eight, before reaching the age of sixty-five, or
when such a participating employee voluntarily retires as
provided by law, on or after the first day of August, one
thousand nine hundred eighty-eight, that employee's insurance
coverage, as provided by this article, shall be extended
according to the following formulae: Such insurance coverage for
a retired higher education full-time faculty member, formerly
employed on an annual contract basis other than for twelve
months, shall continue beyond the effective date of his or her
retirement one additional year for each three and one-third years
of teaching service, as determined by uniform guidelines
established by the university of West Virginia board of trustees
and the board of directors of the state college system, for
individual coverage, or one additional year for each five years
of teaching service for "family" coverage.
(g) Any employee who retired prior to the twenty-first day
of April, one thousand nine hundred seventy-two, and who also
otherwise meets the conditions of the "retired employee"
definition in section two of this article, shall be eligible for
insurance coverage under the same terms and provisions of this
article. The retired employee's premium contribution for any
such coverage shall be established by the finance board paid by
the county from which he or she retired at the same cost as it is
for current employees: Provided, That the retirees reimburse the
county for the cost of the premium.
(h) All retirees under the provisions of this article,
including those defined in section two of this article; those
retiring prior to the twenty-first day of April, one thousand
nine hundred seventy-two; and those hereafter retiring shall be
eligible for and permitted to obtain health insurance coverage.
The retired employee's premium contribution for any such coverage
shall be established by the finance board paid by the county
from which he or she retired at the same cost as it is for
current employees: Provided, That the retirees reimburse the
county for the cost of the premium.
(i) A surviving spouse and dependents of a deceased
employee, who was either an active or retired employee just prior
to such decease, shall be entitled to be included in any group
insurance coverage provided under this article, and such spouse
and dependents shall bear the premium cost of such insurance
coverage. The finance board shall establish the premium cost ofany such coverage.
(j) In construing the provisions of this section or any
other provisions of this code, the Legislature declares that it
is not now nor has it ever been the Legislature's intent that
elected public officials be provided any sick leave, annual leave
or personal leave, and the enactment of this section is based
upon the fact and assumption that no statutory or inherent
authority exists extending sick leave, annual leave or personal
leave to elected public officials and the very nature of such
positions preclude the arising or accumulation of such, so as to
be thereafter usable as premium paying credits for which such
officials may claim extended insurance benefits.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide at the
discretion of retirees the option of splitting accrued annual
leave days and sick leave days, or both, for the purpose of
applying a percentage of accrued days for insurance coverage and
a percentage toward extended service credit. Also, it permits
retirees to have insurance premiums paid by county boards at the
same rate as current employees with premiums reimbursed to the
counties by the retirees.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.