Senate Bill No. 2001

(By Senators Tomblin, Mr. President, and Sprouse,

By Request of the Executive)

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[Introduced June 10, 2003.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact section four, article eight, chapter twelve of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to providing for executive appointment of members of the pension bond review committee.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four, article eight, chapter twelve of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8. PENSION LIABILITY REDEMPTION.
§12-8-4. Issuance of bonds; determination of unfunded actuarial accrued liability.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code and pursuant to section four, article ten of the constitution of West Virginia, the governor shall have the power, as provided by this article, to issue the bonds authorized in this section at a time or times as provided by a resolution adopted by the Legislature to redeem a previous liability of the state by funding all or a portion of the unfunded actuarial accrued liability, such bonds to be payable from and secured by moneys deposited in the pension liability redemption fund. Any bonds issued pursuant to this article, other than refunding bonds, shall be issued no later than five years after the date of adoption of the resolution of the Legislature authorizing the issuance of the bonds referred to in this section.
(b) The aggregate principal amount of bonds issued pursuant to the provisions of this article is limited to no more than the lesser of the following: (1) The principal amount necessary, after deduction of costs, underwriter's discount and original issue discount, if any, to fund not in excess of one hundred percent of the unfunded actuarial accrued liability of the death, disability and retirement fund of the department division of public safety established in article two, chapter fifteen of this code, one hundred percent of the unfunded actuarial accrued liability of the judges' retirement system established in article nine, chapter fifty-one of this code, and ninety-five percent of the unfunded actuarial accrued liability of the teachers retirement system established in article seven-a, chapter eighteen of this code, as certified by the consolidated public retirement board to the department of administration pursuant to subsection (e) of this section; or (2) three billion nine hundred million dollars; but in no event shall the aggregate principal amount of bonds issued exceed the principal amount necessary, after deduction of costs, underwriter's discount and original issue discount, if any, to fund not in excess of the total unfunded actuarial accrued liability, as certified by the consolidated public retirement board to the department of administration pursuant to subsection (e) of this section.
(c) The costs of issuance, excluding fees for bond insurance, credit enhancements and liquidity facilities, plus underwriter's discount and any other costs associated with the issuance shall not exceed, in the aggregate, the sum of one percent of the aggregate principal amount of bonds issued. All such costs shall be subject to the review and approval of a majority of the members of a review committee. The review committee shall consist of two members appointed by the governor from a list of three persons submitted by the president of the Senate; two members appointed by the governor from a list of three persons submitted by the speaker of the House of Delegates; the state treasurer and four six persons having skill and experience in bond issuance, appointed by the governor.
(d) The limitation on the aggregate principal amount of bonds provided in this section shall not preclude the issuance of bonds from time to time or in one or more series.
(e) No later than ten days after receipt of a request from the department of administration, the consolidated public retirement board shall provide the department of administration with a certified statement of the amount of each pension system's unfunded actuarial accrued liability calculated in an actuarial valuation report that establishes the amount of the unfunded actuarial accrued liability as of a date specified by the department of administration, based upon each pension system's most recent actuarial valuation.
(f) No later than fifteen days after receipt of a request from the governor, the department of administration shall provide the governor with a certification of the maximum aggregate principal amount of bonds that may be issued at that time pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.
(g) Prior to any request of the governor that the Legislature prepare and consider a resolution authorizing the issuance of bonds, the bonds shall be authorized by a majority of the members of the review committee described in subsection (c) of this section.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for executive appointment of the members of the pension bond review committee to comply with a recent holding of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals in State ex rel. Citizens Action Group v. West Virginia Economic Development Grant Committee.

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