COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 653
(By Senators Jenkins and Chafin)
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[Originating in the Committee on Pensions;
reported February 26, 2004.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §51-9-4 of the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to judges and justices generally;
providing that a judge becoming eligible for retirement is not
required to contribute to the retirement system; and
clarifying that, for judicial retirement purposes, credited
service includes certain time served as an elected or
appointed prosecuting attorney, full-time assistant
prosecuting attorney, municipal judge or qualified military
service.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §51-9-4 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 9. RETIREMENT SYSTEM FOR JUDGES OF COURTS OF RECORD.
§51-9-4. Required percentage contributions from salaries;
termination of required contributions prior to actual retirement allowed; leased employees; military
service credit; maximum allowable and qualified
military service; qualifiable service as prosecutor,
full-time assistant prosecutor and municipal judge.
(a) Every person who is now serving or shall hereafter serve
as a judge of any court of record of this state shall pay into the
judges' retirement fund six percent of the salary received by
such
that person out of the state treasury:
Provided, That when a judge
becomes eligible to receive benefits from
such the trust fund,
by
actual retirement, no further payment by him or her shall be
required:
since such employee contribution, in an equal treatment
sense, ceases to be required in the other retirement systems of the
state, also, only after actual retirement: Provided, however, That
on and after the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-five, every person who is then serving or shall thereafter
serve as a judge of any court of record in this state shall pay
into the judges' retirement fund nine percent of the salary
received by that person. Any prior occurrence or practice to the
contrary, in any way allowing discontinuance of required employee
contributions prior to actual
eligibility for retirement under this
retirement system, is rejected as erroneous and contrary to
legislative intent and as violative of required equal treatment and
is hereby nullified and discontinued fully, with the state auditor
to require such contribution in every instance hereafter, except
where no contributions are required to be made under any of the
provisions of this article.
Notwithstanding any other provision of
this chapter, a judge or justice holding office on the thirty-first
day of December, one thousand nine hundred eighty-six, and who has served more than twelve full years as a judge or justice and who
subsequently becomes eligible to receive benefits from the trust
fund because of accumulation of twenty-four years of credited
service, which service includes twelve full years of actual service
as a judge or justice, or properly accredited military time and
credited service as defined in this section, then that judge or
justice may not be required to make further contributions to the
trust fund.
(b) An individual who is a leased employee
shall may 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 the final power to
decide the question.
(c) In drawing warrants for the salary checks of judges, the
state auditor shall deduct from the amount of each
such salary
check six percent thereof, which amount so deducted shall be
credited by the consolidated public retirement board to the trust
fund:
Provided, That on or after the first day of January, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-five, the amount so deducted and
credited shall be nine percent of each
such salary check.
(d) Any judge seeking to qualify military service to be
claimed as credited service, in allowable aggregate maximum amount
up to five years, shall be entitled to be awarded the same without
any required payment in respect thereof to the judges' retirement
fund.
(e) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this section,
contributions, benefits and service credit with respect to
qualified military service shall be provided in accordance with
Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code. For purposes of this
section, "qualified military service" has the same meaning as in
Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code. The retirement board
is authorized to determine all questions and make all decisions
relating to this section and may promulgate rules relating to
contributions, benefits and service credit pursuant to the
authority granted to the retirement board in section one, article
ten-d, chapter five of this code to comply with Section 414(u) of
the Internal Revenue Code.
(f) Any judge holding office as such on the effective date of
the amendments to this article adopted by the Legislature at its
regular session in the year one thousand nine hundred eighty-seven,
who seeks to qualify service as a prosecuting attorney as credited
service, which service credit must have been earned prior to the
year one thousand nine hundred eighty-seven, shall be required to
pay into the judges' retirement fund nine percent of the annual
salary which was actually received by
such that person as
prosecuting attorney during the time such prosecutorial service was
rendered prior to the year one thousand nine hundred eighty-seven
and for which credited service is being sought, together with
applicable interest:
Provided, That for the purposes of this
section, credited service includes time served as an elected or
appointed prosecuting attorney and not more than six years as a
full-time assistant prosecuting attorney or municipal judge. No
judge whose term of office shall commence after the effective date of
such the amendments to this article
shall be is eligible to
claim any credit for service rendered as a prosecuting attorney,
full-time assistant prosecuting attorney and municipal judge as
eligible service for retirement benefits under this article, nor
shall any time served as a prosecutor, full-time assistant
prosecuting attorney or municipal judge after the year one thousand
nine hundred eighty-eight be considered as eligible service for any
purposes of this article.
(g) The Legislature finds that any increase in salary for
judges of courts of record directly affects the actuarial soundness
of the retirement system for judges of courts of record and,
therefore, an increase in the required percentage contributions of
members of that retirement system is the same subject for purposes
of determining the single object of this bill.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide a judge
becoming eligible for retirement is not required to contribute to
the retirement system; and clarifying that, for judicial retirement
purposes, credited service includes certain time served as an
elected or appointed prosecuting attorney, full-time assistant
prosecuting attorney, municipal judge or qualified military
service.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.)