H. B. 2852

(By Delegates Staton, J. Smith and Keener)

[Introduced March 14, 2001 ; Referred to the

Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact sections one and seven, article ten-d, chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; all relating to the consolidated public retirement board and clarifying that assets of the public retirement systems administered by the consolidated public retirement board shall be held in trust; clarifying the applicability of the compensation limitations under section 401(a)(17) of the Internal Revenue Code to the contributions and benefits under the qualified retirement plan systems administered by the consolidated public retirement board; authorizing the board to adopt policies and procedures to comply with the compensation limitations and to take other actions to comply with these limitations as required by the Internal Revenue Service; and relating to providing investment management consulting services for the teachers' defined contribution system.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections one and seven, article ten-d, chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, are amended and restated, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 5. GENERAL POWERS AND AUTHORITY OF THE GOVERNOR,

SECRETARY OF STATE AND ATTORNEY GENERAL; BOARD

OF PUBLIC WORKS; MISCELLANEOUS AGENCIES, COMMISSIONS,

OFFICES, PROGRAMS, ETC.

ARTICLE 10D. CONSOLIDATED PUBLIC RETIREMENT BOARD.
§5-10D-1. Consolidated public retirement board created; transition; members; vacancies; investment of plan funds.
(a) There is hereby continued a consolidated public retirement board to administer all public retirement plans in this state. It shall administer the public employees retirement system established in article ten of this chapter; the teachers retirement system established in article seven-a, chapter eighteen of this code; the teachers' defined contribution retirement system created by article seven-b, chapter eighteen of this code; the death, disability and retirement fund of the department of public safety created by article two, chapter fifteen of this code; (the death, disability and retirement fund for deputy sheriffs created by article fourteen-d, chapter seven of this code;) and the judges' retirement system created under article nine, chapter fifty-one of this code.
(b) The consolidated public retirement board shall begin administration the death, disability and retirement fund for deputy sheriffs established in article fourteen-d, chapter seven of this code on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight.
(c) The membership of the consolidated public retirement board consists of:
(1) The governor or his or her designee;
(2) The state treasurer or his or her designee;
(3) The state auditor or his or her designee;
(4) The secretary of the department of administration or his or her designee;
(5) Four residents of the state, who are not members, retirants or beneficiaries of any of the public retirement systems, to be appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate; and
(6) A member, annuitant or retirant of the public employees retirement system who is or was a state employee; a member, annuitant or retirant of the public employees retirement system who is not or was not a state employee; a member, annuitant or retirant of the teachers retirement system; a member, annuitant or retirant of the department of public safety death, disability and retirement fund; a member, annuitant or retirant of the deputy sheriff's death, disability and retirement fund; and a member, annuitant or retirant of the teachers' defined contribution retirement system, all to be appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate.
(d) The appointed members of the board shall serve five-year terms. The governor shall appoint the member representing the deputy sheriff's death, disability and retirement fund by the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight to a five-year term. A member appointed pursuant to subdivision (5) (6), subsection (c) of this section ceases to be a member of the board if he or she ceases to be a member of the represented system. If a vacancy occurs in the appointed membership, the governor, within sixty days, shall fill the vacancy by appointment for the unexpired term. No more than five appointees shall be of the same political party.
(e) The consolidated public retirement board has all the powers, duties, responsibilities and liabilities of the public employees retirement system established pursuant to article ten, of this chapter; the teachers retirement system established pursuant to article seven-a, chapter eighteen of this code; the teachers' defined contribution system established pursuant to article seven-b, chapter eighteen of this code; the death, disability and retirement fund of the department of public safety created pursuant to article two, chapter fifteen of this code; the death, disability and retirement fund for deputy sheriffs created pursuant to article fourteen-d, chapter seven of this code; and the judges' retirement system created pursuant to article nine, chapter fifty-one of this code and their appropriate governing boards. The consolidated public retirement board may propose for promulgation all rules necessary to effectuate its powers, duties and responsibilities pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code: Provided, That the board may adopt any or all of the rules, previously promulgated, of a retirement system which it administers.
(f) Effective on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six, the consolidated public retirement board shall, within two business days of receipt, transfer all funds received by the consolidated public retirement board for the benefit of the retirement systems within the consolidated pension plan as defined in section three-c, article six-b, chapter forty-four of this code, including, but not limited to, all employer and employee contributions, to the West Virginia investment management board: Provided, That the employer and employee contributions of the teachers' defined contribution system, established in section three, article seven-b, chapter eighteen of this code, and voluntary deferred compensation funds invested by the West Virginia consolidated public retirement board pursuant to section five, article ten-b of this chapter, may not be transferred to the West Virginia investment management board.
(g) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the code or any legislative rule, all assets of the public retirement plans set forth in subsection (a) of this section shall be held in trust. The consolidated public retirement board shall be a trustee for all public retirement plans, except with regard to the investment of funds: Provided, That the consolidated public retirement board shall be a trustee with regard to the investments of the teachers' defined contribution system, and the voluntary deferred compensation funds invested pursuant to section five, article ten-b of this chapter and any other assets of the public retirement plans administered by the consolidated public retirement board as set forth in subsection (a) of this section for which no trustee has been expressly designated in this code.
(h) The board is hereby empowered and authorized to employ the West Virginia investment management board to provide
§5-10D-7. Compensation limitations; effective dates.
(a) Effective for plan years beginning after the thirty-first day of December, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five, the annual compensation of a participant taken into account in determining benefits or contributions under any of the public retirement plans administered by the board and which are qualified plans under section 401(a)(17) of the Internal Revenue Code may not exceed one hundred fifty thousand dollars, as indexed in accordance with the provisions of section 401(a)(17) of the Internal Revenue Code. This provision shall apply notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary in this code and not withstanding any provisions of any legislative rule.
(b) In applying the limitations of subsection (a) of this section, the consolidated public retirement board is authorized to: (1) adopt policies or procedures as might be necessary or appropriate in applying compensation limitations of section 401 (a)(17) of the Internal Revenue Code to participants, including, without limitation, the adoption and application of transition rules to implement the compensation limitations; and (2) take any actions required by the Internal Revenue Service to comply with section 401(a)(17), including without limitation, distributions, credits, set-asides or other adjustments.


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify that assets of the public retirement systems administered by the consolidated public retirement board shall be held in trust. The bill also clarifies the applicability of the compensation limitations under section 401(a)(17) of the Internal Revenue Code to the contributions and benefits under the qualified retirement plan systems administered by the consolidated public retirement board and authorizes the board to adopt policies and procedures to comply with these compensation limitations and to take other actions to comply with these limitations as may be required by the Internal Revenue Service. The bill also empowers the CPRB to hire the WV Investment Management Board to provide investment management consulting services for the investment funds in the teachers' defined contribution system.


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