COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

H. B. 2967

(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegates Pethtel,

Varner, Browning, Anderson, Staton and Michael)

(Originating in the Committee on Finance)

[February 27, 2002]


A BILL to amend and reenact section forty-eight, article ten, chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to increasing from ten thousand to twelve thousand dollars the amount of compensation a state retirant may accept for temporary employment while drawing an annuity under the public employees retirement act.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section forty-eight, article ten, 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 10. WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT ACT.
§5-10-48. Reemployment after retirement; options for holder of elected public office.
The Legislature finds that a compelling state interest exists in maintaining an actuarially sound retirement system and that this interest necessitates that certain limitations be placed upon an individual's ability to retire from the system and to then later return to state employment as an employee with a participating public employer while contemporaneously drawing an annuity from the system. The Legislature hereby further finds and declares that the interests of the public are served when persons having retired from public employment are permitted, within certain limitations, to render post-retirement employment in positions of public service, either in elected or appointed capacities.
(a) For the purposes of this section: (1) "Regularly employed on a full-time basis" means employment of an individual by a participating public employer, in a position other than as an elected or appointed public official, which normally requires twelve months per year service and/or requires at least one thousand forty hours of service per year in that position; and (2) "temporary full-time employment or temporary part-time employment" means employment of an individual on a temporary or provisional basis by a participating public employer, other than as an elected or appointed public official, in a position which does not otherwise render the individual as regularly employed.
(b) In the event a retirant becomes regularly employed on a full-time basis by a participating public employer, payment of his or her annuity shall be suspended during the period of his or her reemployment and he or she shall become a contributing member to the retirement system. If his or her reemployment is for a period of one year or longer, his or her annuity shall be recalculated and he or she shall be granted an increased annuity due to such additional employment, said annuity to be computed according to section twenty-two of this article. A retirant may accept temporary full-time or temporary part-time employment from a participating employer without suspending his or her retirement annuity so long as he or she does not receive annual compensation in excess of ten twelve thousand dollars.
(c) In the event a member retires and is then subsequently elected to a public office or is subsequently appointed to hold an elected public office, he or she has the option, notwithstanding subsection (b) of this section, to either:
(1) Continue to receive payment of his or her annuity while holding such public office, in addition to the salary he or she may be entitled to as such office holder; or
(2) Suspend the payment of his or her annuity and become a contributing member of the retirement system as provided in subsection (b) of this section. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, a member who is participating in the system as an elected public official may not retire from his or her elected position and commence to receive an annuity from the system and then be reappointed to the same position unless and until a continuous six-month period has passed since his or her retirement from the position.
(d) A member who is participating in the system simultaneously as both a regular, full-time employee of a participating public employer and as an elected or appointed member of the legislative body of the state or any political subdivision may, upon meeting the age and service requirements of this article, elect to retire from his or her regular full-time state employment and may commence to receive an annuity from the system without terminating his or her position as a member of the legislative body of the state or political subdivision: Provided, That the retired member shall not, during the term of his or her retirement and continued service as a member of the legislative body of a political subdivision, be eligible to continue his or her participation as a contributing member of the system and shall not continue to accrue any additional service credit or benefits in the system related to the continued service.
(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of section twenty-seven-b of this article, any publicly elected member of the legislative body of any political subdivision or of the state Legislature, the clerk of the House of Delegates and the clerk of the Senate may elect to commence receiving in-service retirement distributions from this system upon attaining the age of seventy and one-half years: Provided, That the member is eligible to retire under the provisions of section twenty or section twenty-one of this article: Provided, however, That the member elects to stop actively contributing to the system while receiving such in-service distributions.