Senate Bill No. 208
(By Senators Unger, Prezioso, Smith, Deem and Facemyer)
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[Introduced January 22, 2003; referred to the Committee on
Pensions; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section three, article two-a, chapter
fifteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to clarifying the
authority of the consolidated public retirement board relative
to the state police retirement system.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article two-a, chapter fifteen of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2A. WEST VIRGINIA STATE POLICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
ยง15-2A-3. Creation and administration of West Virginia state
police retirement system; leased employees; federal
qualification requirements.
(a) There is hereby created the West Virginia state police
retirement system. Any West Virginia state trooper employed by the West Virginia state police on or after the effective date of this
article shall be a member of this retirement system and may not
qualify for membership in any other retirement system administered
by the consolidated public retirement board, except by approval of
the consolidated public retirement board pursuant to a majority
vote of the board, so long as he or she remains employed by the
state police.
(b) Any individual who is a leased employee shall not be
eligible to participate in the system. For purposes of this
system, a "leased employee" means any individual who performs
services as an independent contractor or pursuant to an agreement
with an employee leasing organization or other 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.
(c) The consolidated public retirement board created pursuant
to article ten-d, chapter five of this code shall administer the
West Virginia state police retirement system. The board may sue
and be sued, contract and be contracted with and conduct all the
business of the system in the name of the West Virginia state
police retirement system.
(d) This retirement system is intended to meet the federal
qualification requirements of Section 401(a) and related sections
of the Internal Revenue Code as applicable to governmental plans. Notwithstanding any other provision of state law, the board shall
administer the retirement system to fulfill this intent for the
exclusive benefit of the members and their beneficiaries. Any
provision of this article referencing or relating to these federal
qualification requirements shall be effective as of the date
required by federal law. The board may promulgate rules and amend
or repeal conflicting rules in accordance with the authority
granted to the board pursuant to section one, article ten-d,
chapter five of this code, to assure compliance with this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify the authority of
the Consolidated Public Retirement Board relative to the State
Police Retirement System.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.