Bill Summary for S 117 (2017-2018)

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Summary date: 

Dec 3 2018

Bill Information:

View NCGA Bill Details2017-2018 Session
Senate Bill 117 (Public) Filed Tuesday, February 21, 2017
AN ACT TO PROHIBIT THE RECEIPT OF BENEFITS FROM THE CONSOLIDATED JUDICIAL RETIREMENT SYSTEM FOR JUDGES WHO HAVE BEEN IMPEACHED AND CONVICTED OR REMOVED FROM OFFICE; TO AMEND FELONY FORFEITURE STATUTES; TO CLARIFY ANTI-PENSION-SPIKING CONTRIBUTION-BASED BENEFIT CAP; AND TO PROVIDE AN EXEMPTION FROM RULE MAKING; TO MAKE OTHER TECHNICAL AND SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES TO LAW RELATING TO THE STATE TREASURER, TO THE TEACHERS' AND STATE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM, TO THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM LAWS, TO THE STATE HEALTH PLAN FOR TEACHERS AND STATE EMPLOYEES, AND RELATED STATUTES; AND TO MAKE A TECHNICAL CORRECTION TO THE STATUTES THAT INDICATE THE YEAR IN OR AFTER WHICH LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE TEACHERS' AND STATE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM OR THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM MAY RETIRE AFTER ACHIEVING TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF CREDITABLE SERVICE SO THAT THE YEAR IN THE STATUTE AND THE YEAR THE SESSION LAW BECOMES EFFECTIVE ARE IN AGREEMENT.
Intro. by Pate, Tucker.

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Bill summary

House committee substitute makes the following changes to the 4th edition.

Changes the act's long and short titles.

Part I

Changes the statutory number for the proposed provisions regarding forfeiture of retirement benefits for conviction on impeachment of removal from office of justices and judges, now GS 135-75.1C.

Amends GS 135-75.1B (enacted in SL 2018-52), to also prohibit any members whose retirement benefits have been forfeited under new GS 135-75.1C from subsequently purchasing or repurchasing either those forfeited benefits or any associated creditable membership service associated.

Amends proposed GS 135-56(k), adjusting the date by which a justice or judge who is in service and has vested in the Judicial Retirement System is not entitled to any creditable service if convicted on impeachment or removed from office for acts committed after that date, to now be October 1, 2019 (was, December 1, 2017).

Changes the effective date for the provisions of Part I to now be October 1, 2019 (was, December 1, 2017).

Part III

Makes technical changes to the proposed changes to GS 135-5(a3) and GS 128-27(a3), concerning the anti-pension-spiking contribution based benefit cap for retirement allowances provided by the Retirement Systems for Teachers and State Employees and Local Government, to reflect the changes enacted to those statutes in SL 2018-22.

Makes clarifying and technical changes to the proposed changes to GS 135-6(l) and GS 128-28(m), concerning the duties of a designated actuary in each System. Further specifies that the described studies, assumptions and rates used by the actuary set out in the actuary's periodic reports, annual valuations of System assets, or other materials provided to the Board of Trustees, once accepted by the Board, are considered part of the Plan documentation governing the System and effective the first date of the month following adoption, unless a different date is specified in the adopting resolution and that effective date is after the adoption date.

Changes the effective date provision for Part III. Provides that the provisions of this Part are effective January 1, 2019, and apply to calculations on or after that date, if HB 1055 of the 2017 Regular Session (Retirement Complexity Reduction Act of 2018) does not become law. Provides that if HB 1055 does become law, then the proposed changes to GS 135-6(l) and GS 128-28(m), concerning the duties of a designated actuary in each System, become effective on the date that Section 1 of HB 1055 becomes effective (effective when becomes law; contains identical proposed changes to those statutes) and apply to calculations on or after that date, and proposed changes to GS 135-5(a3) and GS 128-27(a3), concerning the anti-pension-spiking contribution based benefit caps in each System, become effective January 1, 2019, and apply to calculations on or after that date.

Part IV

Makes organizational changes and adds to the proposed rule making exemption for the Boards of the Teachers and State Employees and Local Government Retirement Systems, GS 150B-1(d)(29). Now includes in the exemption the Boards' adoption of asset smoothing methods, actuarial cost methods, and amortization policies after presentation of the actuary's recommendations.

Makes clarifying and technical changes to the proposed changes to GS 135-6(n) and GS 128-28(o), expressly requiring the Board of Trustees of each System to adopt for each System necessary contribution-based benefit cap factors in addition to mortality and service tables required to be adopted upon recommendations from the actuary based on the five-year actuarial investigation and valuation.

Changes the effective date for the provisions of Part IV. Provides that the provisions of this Part are effective January 1, 2019, and apply to actuarial tables, assumptions, and contribution-based cap factors changed on or after that date and actuarial investigations and calculations made on or after that date, if HB 1055 of the 2017 Regular Session (Retirement Complexity Reduction Act of 2018) does not become law. Provides that if HB 1055 does become law, then the proposed changes become effective on the date that Section 1 of HB 1055 becomes effective (effective when becomes law; contains identical proposed changes to the statutes) and apply to actuarial tables, assumptions, and contribution-based cap factors changed on or after that date and actuarial investigations and calculations made on or after that date.

Part V

Amends GS 135-4 and GS 135-1.1 (concerning the Retirement System for Teachers and State Employees), GS 128-26 (concerning the Retirement System for Counties, Cities, and Towns), GS 135-56 (concerning the Judicial Retirement System), GS 120-4.15 (concerning the Legislative Retirement System), pushing back the service purchase provision effective date to the specified dates, but only if HB 1055 of the 2017 Regular Session (Retirement Complexity Reduction Act of 2018; Section 5 of the act amends the same statutes as Part V of this act) becomes law.

Amends Section 5.(k) of HB 1055 (2017), requiring the Retirement Systems Division of the Department of State Treasurer to accept and process all service purchase request forms, for all service purchases that are required to have been made by June 30, 2019 (currently, December 31, 2018), that are received by the Division on or before that date. 

Adds that if HB 1055 of the 2017 Regular Session becomes law, the provisions of Part V become effective on the date Section 5 of HB 1055 becomes law.

Part VI

Amends GS 135-5 (concerning the Retirement System for Teachers and State Employees) and GS 128-27 (concerning Coverage of Governmental Employees under Title II of the Social Security Act), changing the optional retirement allowance elections by delaying the triggering date, as specified, but only if HB 1055 of the 2017 Regular Session (Retirement Complexity Reduction Act of 2018; Section 6 of the act amends the same statutes as Part VII of this act) becomes law.

Adds that if HB 1055 of the 2017 Regular Session becomes law, the provisions of Part V become effective on the date Section 6 of HB 1055 becomes law.

Part VII

Amends Section 3(b) of SL 2018-84, providing for a five-year sunset of the changes to GS 135-5.3(f) in that act, which require a charter school ceasing participation in the retirement system for teachers and state employees to pay withdrawal liability in a lump sum or installment payment plan under which the Retirement System would have a lien on the real property of the charter school. Allows charter schools entering a withdrawal of liability payment plan prior to the sunset date a full three years to complete the payment plan with lien priority applicable during the entire period of the payment plan. (The act provides alternate but substantively identical provisions depending on whether HB 1055 of the 2017 Regular Session becomes law).

Part VIII

Amends GS 135-5 and GS 128-27, changing the date of retirement from service determinant from July 1, 2018, to July 1, 2019, for the retirement allowances of members of the Retirement Systems for Teachers and State Employees and Local Government. Effective July 1, 2019.