H. B. 4482

(By Delegate Campbell)
[Introduced February 14, 2002; referred to the
Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.]

A BILL to amend and reenact sections five and thirteen, article fourteen-d, chapter seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to further amend said article by adding thereto a new section, designated section twenty-four-a, all relating to the rights of members who are eligible to be reinstated or to transfer public employees retirement system service to the deputy sheriff retirement system; and relating to retired members who return to covered employment in the deputy sheriff retirement system.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections five and thirteen, article fourteen-d, chapter seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said article be further amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section twenty-four-a, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 14D. DEPUTY SHERIFF RETIREMENT SYSTEM ACT.
§7-14D-5. Members.
(a) Any deputy sheriff first employed by a county in covered employment after the effective date of this article shall be a member of this retirement system and plan and does not qualify for membership in any other retirement system administered by the board, so long as he or she remains employed in covered employment.
(b) Any deputy sheriff employed in covered employment on the effective date of this article shall within six months of that effective date notify in writing both the county commission in the county in which he or she is employed and the board of his or her desire to become a member of the plan: Provided, That this time period is extended to the thirtieth day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, in accordance with the decision of the supreme court of appeals in West Virginia Deputy Sheriffs' Association, et al v. James L. Sims, et al, No. 25212: Provided, however, That any deputy sheriff employed in covered employment on the effective date of this article has an additional time period consisting of the ten-day period following the day after which the amended provisions of this section become law to notify in writing both the county commission in the county in which he or she is employed and the board of his or her desire to become a member of the plan. Any deputy sheriff who elects to become a member of the plan ceases to be a member or have any credit for covered employment in any other retirement system administered by the board and shall continue to be ineligible for membership in any other retirement system administered by the board so long as the deputy sheriff remains employed in covered employment in this plan: Provided further, That any deputy sheriff who elects during the time period from the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight, to the thirtieth day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, or who so elects during the ten-day time period occurring immediately following the day after the day the amendments made during the one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine legislative session become law, to transfer from the public employees retirement system to the plan created in this article shall contribute to the plan created in this article at the rate set forth in section seven of this article retroactive to the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight. Any deputy sheriff who does not affirmatively elect to become a member of the plan continues to be eligible for any other retirement system as is from time to time offered to other county employees but is ineligible for this plan regardless of any subsequent termination of employment and rehire.
(c) Any deputy sheriff who was employed as a deputy sheriff prior to the effective date, but was not employed as a deputy sheriff on the effective date of this article, shall become a member upon rehire as a deputy sheriff. For purposes of this section, the member's years of service and credited service prior to the effective date shall not be counted for any purposes under this plan unless: (1) The deputy sheriff has not received the return of his or her accumulated contributions in the public employees retirement fund system pursuant to section thirty, article ten, chapter five of this code; or (2) the accumulated contributions returned to the member from the public employees retirement system have been repaid pursuant to section twelve thirteen of this article. If the conditions of subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection are met, all years of covered employment shall be counted as years of service for the purposes of this article. Each transferring deputy sheriff shall be given credited service for the purposes of this article for all covered employment from the public employees retirement system regardless of whether such credited service (as that term is defined in section two, article ten, chapter five of this code) was earned as a deputy sheriff. All service in the public employees retirement system accrued by a transferring deputy sheriff shall be transferred into the plan created by this article and the transferring deputy sheriff shall be given the same credit for the purposes of this article for all such covered service which is transferred from the public employees retirement system as that transferring deputy sheriff would have received from the public employees retirement system if such transfer had not occurred: Provided, That nondeputy service earned in the public employees retirement system after the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight, by a member who resumes covered employment after the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight,

cannot be transferred. In connection with each deputy sheriff receiving credit for prior employment provided in this subsection, a transfer from public employees retirement system to this plan shall be made pursuant to the procedures described in section eight of this article.
(d) Once made, the election made under this section is irrevocable. All deputy sheriffs first employed after the effective date and deputy sheriffs electing to become members as described in this section shall be members as a condition of employment and shall make the contributions required by section seven of this article.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, any individual who is a leased employee shall not be eligible to participate in the plan. For purposes of this plan, a "leased employee" means any individual who performs services as an independent contractor or pursuant to an agreement with an employee leasing organization or similar organization. If a question arises regarding the status of an individual as a leased employee, the board has final power to decide the question.

§7-14D-13. Refunds to certain members upon discharge or resignation; deferred retirement; forfeitures.

(a) Any member who terminates covered employment and is not eligible to receive disability benefits under this article is, by written request filed with the board, entitled to receive from the fund the member's accumulated contributions. Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, upon withdrawal the member shall forfeit his or her accrued benefit and cease to be a member.
(b) Any member who withdraws accumulated contributions from either this plan or the public employees retirement system and thereafter becomes reemployed in covered employment shall not receive any credited service for the prior employment unless following his or her return to covered employment, the member redeposits in the fund the amount of the accumulated contributions submitted on salary paid while a deputy sheriff, together with interest on the accumulated contributions at the rate determined by the board from the date of withdrawal to the date of redeposit. Upon repayment he or she shall receive the same credit on account of his or her former service as if no refund had been made. The repayment shall be made in a lump sum within sixty months of the deputy sheriff's reemployment or if later, within sixty months of the effective date of this article.
(c) Every member who completes sixty months of covered employment is eligible, upon cessation of covered employment, to either withdraw his or her accumulated contributions in accordance with subsection (a) of this section, or to choose not to withdraw his or her accumulated contribution and to receive retirement income payments upon attaining early or normal retirement age.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, forfeitures under the plan shall not be applied to increase the benefits any member would otherwise receive under the plan. §7-14D-24a. Return to covered employment by retired member.
The annuity of any member who retires under the provisions of this article and who resumes service in covered employment shall be suspended while such member continues in covered employment. The monthly annuity payment for the month in which such service resumes shall be prorated to the date of commencement of such service, and such member shall again become a contributing member during such resumption of service. At the conclusion of such resumed service in covered employment the member shall have his or her annuity recalculated to take into account the entirety of service in covered employment.




NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify what public employees retirement system service can be transferred and reinstated to the deputy sheriff retirement system and to address what happens when a retired member of the deputy sheriff retirement system returns to covered employment.

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