ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2365
(By Delegates Staton and Browning)
[Passed March 11, 1995; in effect ninety days from passage.]
AN ACT to amend and reenact section two, article sixteen, chapter
five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, relating to making all elected members of
county boards of education eligible for coverage under the public
employees insurance act.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section 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.
ยง5-16-2. Definitions.
The following words and phrases as used in this article,
unless a different meaning is clearly indicated by the context,
shall have the following meanings:
(1) "Advisory board" means the public employees insurance agency advisory board created by this article.
(2) "Agency" means the public employees insurance agency
created by this article.
(3) "Director" means the director of the public employees
insurance agency, created by this article.
(4) "Employee" means any person, including elected officers,
who works regularly full time in the service of the state of West
Virginia and, for the purpose of this article only, the term
"employee" also means any person, including elected officers, who
works regularly full time in the service of a county board of
education; 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; any person
who works regularly full time in the service of the university of
West Virginia board of trustees or the board of directors of the
state college system; and any person who works regularly full
time in the service of a combined city-county health department
created pursuant to article two, chapter sixteen of this code.
On and after the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-four, and upon election by a county board of education to
allow elected board members to participate in the public
employees insurance program pursuant to this article, any person
elected to a county board of education shall be deemed to be an
"employee" during the term of office of the elected member:
Provided, That the elected member shall pay the entire cost of
the premium if he or she elects to be covered under this act.
Any matters of doubt as to who is an employee within the meaning
of this article shall be decided by the director.
(5) "Employer" means the state of West Virginia, its boards, agencies, commissions, departments, institutions or spending
units; a county board of education; 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, chapter sixteen of this code.
Any matters of doubt as to who is an "employer" within the
meaning of this article shall be decided by the director. The
term "employer" shall not include within its meaning the national
guard.
(6) "Finance board" means the public employees insurance
agency finance board created by this article.
(7) "Retired employee" shall mean an employee of the state
who retired after the twenty-ninth day of April, one thousand
nine hundred seventy-one, and an employee of the university of
West Virginia board of trustees or the board of directors of the
state college system or a county board of education who retires
on or after the twenty-first day of April, one thousand nine
hundred seventy-two, and all additional eligible employees who
retire on or after the effective date of this article and meet
the minimum eligibility requirements for their respective state
retirement system: Provided, That for the purposes of this
article such employees who are not covered by a state retirement
system shall, in the case of education employees, meet the
minimum eligibility requirements of the state teachers retirement
system, and in all other cases, meet the minimum eligibility
requirements of the public employees retirement system.