Senate Bill No. 680
(By Senators Helmick and Sprouse)
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[Introduced March 26, 2001; referred to the Committee on
Pensions; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section four-a, article twenty-three,
chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the
supplemental and additional retirement plans for the employees
of state institutions of higher education.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four-a, article twenty-three, chapter eighteen
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 23. ADDITIONAL POWERS, DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF
GOVERNING BOARDS OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER
EDUCATION.
§18-23-4a. Supplemental and additional retirement plans for employees; payroll deductions; authority to match
employee contributions; retroactive curative and
technical corrective action.
The governing boards shall have the authority to contract for
a supplemental retirement plan for any or all of its employees to
supplement the benefits such employees will receive under the state
teachers retirement system. The governing boards shall have the
authority to make additional periodic deductions from the salary
payments due such employees in the amount they are required to
contribute for the supplemental retirement plan selected by the
board. The additional deductions shall not exceed five percent of
the salary of employees under thirty-five years of age, six percent
of the salary of those thirty-five through forty-four years of age,
and seven and one-half percent of the salary of those forty-five
years of age and above, and shall not cover any portion of an
employee's salary which is covered by the state teachers retirement
system.
The governing boards shall also have the authority to contract
for an additional retirement plan for any of its employees who
elect to participate solely in such a retirement plan selected by
the governing boards without participating in the state retirement
system. The governing boards shall have the authority to make periodic deductions from the salary payments due such employees in
the amount they are required to contribute to the additional plan,
which deductions shall be the same percentage of the participating
employees' salaries as that deducted from the salaries of members
of the state retirement system.
The board is further authorized, by way of additional
compensation to such employees, to pay an amount equal to the
contributions of such employees into either the supplemental or
additional retirement plan from funds appropriated to it for
personal services. Each participating employee shall have a full
and immediate vested interest in the retirement and death benefits
accrued from all the moneys paid into such supplemental or
additional retirement plan for his or her benefit. Upon proper
requisition of the board, the auditor shall periodically issue a
warrant, payable as specified in the requisition, for the total
contributions so withheld from the salaries of all participating
employees and for the governing board's matching funds.
Pursuant to the provisions contained in article seven-a and
article twenty-three of this chapter, once a member has elected one
of the options contained in section fourteen-a, article seven-a of
this chapter and section four-a, article twenty-three of this chapter, he or she cannot thereafter change such election. The
Legislature declares that the amendment of this section in Enrolled
Committee Substitute for House Bill No. 4672, enacted at the
regular session, one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight, was
inadvertent and remained in said bill contrary to legislative
intent that the same be deleted; therefore, such language is hereby
retroactively deleted and expunged as of the effective date of said
Enrolled Committee Substitute for House Bill No. 4672 as curative
and technical corrective action. The Legislature further declares
that such ambiguous and deficient language inadvertently enacted in
said bill shall be given no force and effect whatsoever in any
litigation involving such language.
Beginning on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-one, any person whose employment commences on or after that
date and is eligible to participate in an additional retirement
plan provided pursuant to this section shall be required to
participate in said additional plan and shall not be eligible to
participate in any other state retirement system. On or before the
first day of January, two thousand two, the governing boards shall
provide a choice of no fewer than three vendors and no more than
six vendors of retirement products and services who are authorized to do business in this state to all their employees who participate
in the additional retirement plan provided pursuant to this
section. The vendors shall be chosen by the higher education
policy commission, established pursuant to article one-b, chapter
eighteen-b of this code, pursuant to a request for proposal issued
pursuant to provisions of section four, article five, chapter
eighteen-b of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the governing
boards of the state institutions of higher education to provide to
its employees a choice of no fewer than three nor more than ten
vendors of retirement products and services. Vendors are to be
chosen by one board pursuant to a request for proposal.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.