COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 3097
(By Delegates Moore and Craig)
(Originating in the Committee on Finance)
[February 20, 2007]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto two new sections, designated §5-10B-3a and
§5-10B-10a; and to amend and reenact §36-8-13 of said code,
all relating to government employees deferred compensation
plans; authorizing automatic enrollment in a plan; authorizing
a matching contribution program; establishing matching program
term; establishing qualifications for participation; limiting
the match to twenty-five percent of employee contributions at
a maximum of one hundred dollars per year, not to exceed four
hundred dollars over the life of the matching program;
establishing the Deferred Compensation Matching Fund;
specifying that operation of a matching program is contingent
upon funding by the Legislature and may be changed or
discontinued at any time for a time certain or indefinitely;
specifying that disbursements from the matching fund may not
exceed one million dollars in any one fiscal year; allowing
earnings to accrue to the matching fund; requiring the unclaimed property administrator to transfer two million
dollars from the unclaimed property trust fund to the matching
fund on or before the first day of June, two thousand seven,
and one million dollars on or before the first day of June,
two thousand eight.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto two new sections, designated §5-10B-3a and
§5-10B-10a; and that §36-8-13 of said code be amended and
reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 5. GENERAL POWERS AND AUTHORITY OF THE GOVERNOR,
SECRETARY OF STATE AND ATTORNEY GENERAL.
ARTICLE 10B. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLANS.
§5-10B-3a. Automatic enrollment.
(a) Every state employee commencing work on and after the
first day of July, two thousand seven, shall have a minimum of ten
dollars per pay period of his or her salary deferred to the state
deferred compensation plan unless the state employee provides
written notice declining to participate in accordance with the
Treasurer's guidelines. A state employee may change the
contribution amount or cease participating at any time. An
employee declining participation in the state deferred compensation
plan may elect to participate at a later time.
(b) A political subdivision may establish an automatic
enrollment program in a deferred compensation plan pursuant to this article. A political subdivision employee may elect to not
participate in the deferred compensation plan at any time and to
change the contribution amount.
§5-10B-10a. Matching contribution program.
(a) For a period commencing the first day of July, two
thousand seven, and continuing through the thirtieth day of
September, two thousand twelve, the Treasurer is authorized to
establish and operate a savings incentive program pursuant to
section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, in
which a state employee participating in the deferred compensation
plan authorized in this article may receive certain matching
contributions pursuant to this section. The Treasurer shall
establish matching program guidelines in accordance with this
article.
(b) To qualify for participation in the matching program, a
state employee shall have contributed to his or her deferred
compensation account not less than ten dollars every pay period
during a fiscal year.
(c)(1) Subject to the limitations provided by subdivision (2)
of this subsection and subsections (e) and (f) of this section, the
Treasurer shall allocate and credit a matching sum of up to twenty-
five percent of the contributions a qualified state employee made
to his or her deferred compensation account during a fiscal year
subsequent to qualifying to participate in the matching program for
a period of up to five fiscal years, which contributions shall be
at least ten dollars in every pay period during the fiscal year, and which matching contributions for any employee shall not exceed
one hundred dollars in any one fiscal year and four hundred dollars
total over the life of the matching program.
(2) The Treasurer shall set the amount of funds a qualified
state employee may receive as a match in accordance with this
section in an amount not to exceed the amount of funds authorized
by the Legislature for this purpose.
(d) The matching contribution shall be remitted annually by
the Treasurer from the West Virginia Deferred Compensation Matching
Fund, which is hereby created, to the employee's account in the
West Virginia Deferred Compensation Trust Fund no later than the
thirtieth day of September each year for the prior fiscal year.
(e) The Treasurer shall not obligate, authorize or pay any
match for which funds are not available in the West Virginia
Deferred Compensation Matching Fund.
(f) Operation of the matching program is contingent upon
funding made available by the West Virginia Legislature and may be
changed or discontinued at any time for a time certain or
indefinitely, as determined by the Legislature or the Treasurer.
The maximum amount of funds that may be expended from the Deferred
Compensation Matching Fund in any one fiscal year is one million
dollars.
(g) On or before the first day of June, two thousand seven,
the unclaimed property administrator shall transfer the amount of
two million dollars from the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund, created
in section thirteen, article eight, chapter thirty-six of this code, to the Deferred Compensation Matching Fund for operation of
the matching program. On or before the first day of June, two
thousand eight, the unclaimed property administrator shall transfer
the amount of one million dollars from the Unclaimed Property Trust
Fund to the Deferred Compensation Matching Fund for operation of
the matching program.
(h) Moneys in the Deferred Compensation Matching Fund may be
invested, in whole or in part, with the West Virginia Board of
Treasury Investments or any other entity the Treasurer selects, and
all earnings shall accrue to and be retained by the fund.
(i) The State of West Virginia, the Treasurer and his or her
employees, agents and representatives shall not be liable for any
losses incurred by the Deferred Compensation Matching Fund.
(j) Any moneys remaining in the Deferred Compensation Matching
Fund at the termination of the matching program shall be
transferred to the General Revenue Fund of the state no later than
the thirty-first day of December, two thousand twelve.
(k) Any public employer may elect to operate its own matching
program.
CHAPTER 36. ESTATES AND PROPERTY.
ARTICLE 8. THE UNIFORM UNCLAIMED PROPERTY ACT.
§36-8-13. Deposit of funds.
(a) The administrator shall record the name and last known
address of each person appearing from the holders reports to be
entitled to the property and the name and last known address of each insured person or annuitant and beneficiary and with respect
to each policy or annuity listed in the report of an insurance
company, its number, the name of the company and the amount due.
(b) The Unclaimed Property Fund is continued. The
administrator shall deposit all funds received pursuant to this
article in the Unclaimed Property Fund, including the proceeds from
the sale of abandoned property under section twelve of this
article. In addition to paying claims of unclaimed property duly
allowed, the administrator may deduct the following expenses from
the Unclaimed Property Fund:
(1) Expenses of the sale of abandoned property;
(2) Expenses incurred in returning the property to owners,
including without limitation the costs of mailing and publication
to locate owners;
(3) Reasonable service charge; and
(4) Expenses incurred in examining records of holders of
property and in collecting the property from those holders.
(c) The Unclaimed Property Trust Fund is continued within the
State Treasury. After deducting the expenses specified in
subsection (b) of this section and maintaining a sum of money from
which to pay claims duly allowed, the administrator shall transfer
the remaining moneys in the Unclaimed Property Fund to the
Unclaimed Property Trust Fund.
(d) On or before the fifteenth day of December of each year
and after receipt of a report from the Chairman of the Board of
Trustees of the West Virginia College Prepaid Tuition and Savings Program stating the amount certified by an actuary in accordance
with the provisions of section six, article thirty, chapter
eighteen of this code, notwithstanding any provision of this code
to the contrary, the administrator shall transfer the sum of money
certified by the actuary from the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund to
the Prepaid Tuition Trust Escrow Fund, the amount transferred not
to exceed one million dollars annually.
(e) On or before the first day of June, two thousand seven,
the unclaimed property administrator shall transfer the amount of
two million dollars from the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund to the
Deferred Compensation Matching Fund for operation of the deferred
compensation matching program for state employees. On or before
the first day of June, two thousand eight, the unclaimed property
administrator shall transfer the amount of one million dollars from
the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund to the Deferred Compensation
Matching Fund for operation of the matching program.
(e) (f) After transferring any money required by subsection
(d) subsections (d) and (e) of this section, the administrator
shall transfer moneys remaining in the Unclaimed Property Trust
Fund to the General Revenue Fund.