HF 1977

as introduced - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to retirement; references to former retirement plans; correcting obsolete
references; amending Minnesota Statutes 2006, sections 13.632, subdivision
1; 126C.41, subdivision 4; 353.01, subdivision 2b; 354A.12, subdivision 3b;
354B.21, subdivision 3; 355.01, subdivision 3h; 423A.02, subdivisions 3, 5.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 13.632, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Beneficiary and survivor data.

The following data on beneficiaries
and survivors of the deleted text begin Minneapolis Teachers Retirement Fund Association, the deleted text end St. Paul
Teachers Retirement Fund Association deleted text begin , deleted text end and the Duluth Teachers Retirement Fund
Association members are private data on individuals: home address, date of birth, direct
deposit number, and tax withholding data.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 126C.41, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Minneapolis health insurance subsidy.

Each year Special School District
No. 1, Minneapolis, may make an additional levy not to exceed the amount raised by a net
tax rate of .10 percent times the adjusted net tax capacity for taxes payable in 1991 and
thereafter of the property in the district for the preceding year. The proceeds may be used
only to subsidize health insurance costs for eligible teachers as provided in this section.

"Eligible teacher" means a retired teacher who new text begin is a retired member of the Teachers
Retirement Association, who new text end was a basic member of the new text begin former new text end Minneapolis Teachers
Retirement Fund Association, who retired before May 1, 1974, or who had 20 or more
years of basic member service in the new text begin former new text end Minneapolis Teachers Retirement Fund
Association and retired before June 30, 1983, and who is not eligible to receive the
hospital insurance benefits of the federal Medicare program of the Social Security Act
without payment of a monthly premium. The district must notify eligible teachers that a
subsidy is available. To obtain a subsidy, an eligible teacher must submit to the school
district a copy of receipts for health insurance premiums paid. The district must disburse
the health insurance premium subsidy to each eligible teacher according to a schedule
determined by the district, but at least annually. An eligible teacher may receive a subsidy
up to an amount equal to the lesser of 90 percent of the cost of the eligible teacher's
health insurance or up to 90 percent of the cost of the number two qualified plan of health
coverage for individual policies made available by the Minnesota comprehensive health
association under chapter 62E.

If funds remaining from the previous year's health insurance subsidy levy, minus
the previous year's required subsidy amount, are sufficient to pay the estimated current
year subsidy, the levy must be discontinued until the remaining funds are estimated by the
school board to be insufficient to pay the subsidy.

This subdivision does not extend benefits to teachers who retire after June 30,
1983, and does not create a contractual right or claim for altering the benefits in this
subdivision. This subdivision does not restrict the district's right to modify or terminate
coverage under this subdivision.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 353.01, subdivision 2b, is amended to read:

Subd. 2b.

Excluded employees.

The following public employees are not eligible
to participate as members of the association with retirement coverage by the public
employees retirement plan, the local government correctional employees retirement plan
under chapter 353E, or the public employees police and fire retirement plan:

(1) public officers, other than county sheriffs, who are elected to a governing body,
or persons who are appointed to fill a vacancy in an elective office of a governing body,
whose term of office commences on or after July 1, 2002, for the service to be rendered
in that elective position. Elected governing body officials who were active members of
the association's coordinated or basic retirement plans as of June 30, 2002, continue
participation throughout incumbency in office until termination of public service occurs as
defined in subdivision 11a;

(2) election officers or election judges;

(3) patient and inmate personnel who perform services for a governmental
subdivision;

(4) except as otherwise specified in subdivision 12a, employees who are hired for
a temporary position as defined under subdivision 12a, and employees who resign from
a nontemporary position and accept a temporary position within 30 days in the same
governmental subdivision;

(5) employees who are employed by reason of work emergency caused by fire,
flood, storm, or similar disaster;

(6) employees who by virtue of their employment in one governmental subdivision
are required by law to be a member of and to contribute to any of the plans or funds
administered by the Minnesota State Retirement System, the Teachers Retirement
Association, the Duluth Teachers Retirement Fund Association, deleted text begin the Minneapolis Teachers
Retirement Fund Association, deleted text end the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association, the
Minneapolis Employees Retirement Fund, or any police or firefighters relief association
governed by section 69.77 that has not consolidated with the Public Employees Retirement
Association, or any local police or firefighters consolidation account who have not elected
the type of benefit coverage provided by the public employees police and fire fund under
sections 353A.01 to 353A.10, or any persons covered by section 353.665, subdivision 4,
5, or 6, who have not elected public employees police and fire plan benefit coverage. This
clause must not be construed to prevent a person from being a member of and contributing
to the Public Employees Retirement Association and also belonging to and contributing to
another public pension plan or fund for other service occurring during the same period
of time. A person who meets the definition of "public employee" in subdivision 2 by
virtue of other service occurring during the same period of time becomes a member of the
association unless contributions are made to another public retirement fund on the salary
based on the other service or to the Teachers Retirement Association by a teacher as
defined in section 354.05, subdivision 2;

(7) persons who are members of a religious order and are excluded from coverage
under the federal Old Age, Survivors, Disability, and Health Insurance Program for the
performance of service as specified in United States Code, title 42, section 410(a)(8)(A),
as amended through January 1, 1987, if no irrevocable election of coverage has been made
under section 3121(r) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended;

(8) employees of a governmental subdivision who have not reached the age of
23 and are enrolled on a full-time basis to attend or are attending classes on a full-time
basis at an accredited school, college, or university in an undergraduate, graduate, or
professional-technical program, or a public or charter high school;

(9) resident physicians, medical interns, and pharmacist residents and pharmacist
interns who are serving in a degree or residency program in public hospitals;

(10) students who are serving in an internship or residency program sponsored
by an accredited educational institution;

(11) persons who hold a part-time adult supplementary technical college license who
render part-time teaching service in a technical college;

(12) except for employees of Hennepin County or Hennepin Healthcare System,
Inc., foreign citizens working for a governmental subdivision with a work permit of less
than three years, or an H-1b visa valid for less than three years of employment. Upon
notice to the association that the work permit or visa extends beyond the three-year period,
the foreign citizens must be reported for membership from the date of the extension;

(13) public hospital employees who elected not to participate as members of the
association before 1972 and who did not elect to participate from July 1, 1988, to October
1, 1988;

(14) except as provided in section 353.86, volunteer ambulance service personnel,
as defined in subdivision 35, but persons who serve as volunteer ambulance service
personnel may still qualify as public employees under subdivision 2 and may be members
of the Public Employees Retirement Association and participants in the public employees
retirement fund or the public employees police and fire fund, whichever applies, on the
basis of compensation received from public employment service other than service as
volunteer ambulance service personnel;

(15) except as provided in section 353.87, volunteer firefighters, as defined in
subdivision 36, engaging in activities undertaken as part of volunteer firefighter duties;
provided that a person who is a volunteer firefighter may still qualify as a public
employee under subdivision 2 and may be a member of the Public Employees Retirement
Association and a participant in the public employees retirement fund or the public
employees police and fire fund, whichever applies, on the basis of compensation received
from public employment activities other than those as a volunteer firefighter;

(16) pipefitters and associated trades personnel employed by Independent School
District No. 625, St. Paul, with coverage under a collective bargaining agreement by the
pipefitters local 455 pension plan who were either first employed after May 1, 1997, or,
if first employed before May 2, 1997, elected to be excluded under Laws 1997, chapter
241, article 2, section 12;

(17) electrical workers, plumbers, carpenters, and associated trades personnel
employed by Independent School District No. 625, St. Paul, or the city of St. Paul,
who have retirement coverage under a collective bargaining agreement by the Electrical
Workers Local 110 pension plan, the United Association Plumbers Local 34 pension plan,
or the Carpenters Local 87 pension plan who were either first employed after May 1,
2000, or, if first employed before May 2, 2000, elected to be excluded under Laws 2000,
chapter 461, article 7, section 5;

(18) bricklayers, allied craftworkers, cement masons, glaziers, glassworkers,
painters, allied tradesworkers, and plasterers employed by the city of St. Paul or
Independent School District No. 625, St. Paul, with coverage under a collective
bargaining agreement by the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 1 pension plan,
the Cement Masons Local 633 pension plan, the Glaziers and Glassworkers Local L-1324
pension plan, the Painters and Allied Trades Local 61 pension plan, or the Twin Cities
Plasterers Local 265 pension plan who were either first employed after May 1, 2001, or if
first employed before May 2, 2001, elected to be excluded under Laws 2001, First Special
Session chapter 10, article 10, section 6;

(19) plumbers employed by the Metropolitan Airports Commission, with coverage
under a collective bargaining agreement by the Plumbers Local 34 pension plan, who either
were first employed after May 1, 2001, or if first employed before May 2, 2001, elected to
be excluded under Laws 2001, First Special Session chapter 10, article 10, section 6;

(20) employees who are hired after June 30, 2002, to fill seasonal positions under
subdivision 12b which are limited in duration by the employer to 185 consecutive calendar
days or less in each year of employment with the governmental subdivision;

(21) persons who are provided supported employment or work-study positions
by a governmental subdivision and who participate in an employment or industries
program maintained for the benefit of these persons where the governmental subdivision
limits the position's duration to three years or less, including persons participating in a
federal or state subsidized on-the-job training, work experience, senior citizen, youth, or
unemployment relief program where the training or work experience is not provided as a
part of, or for, future permanent public employment;

(22) independent contractors and the employees of independent contractors; and

(23) reemployed annuitants of the association during the course of that
reemployment.

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 354A.12, subdivision 3b, is amended to read:

Subd. 3b.

Special direct state matching aid to the Teachers Retirement
Association.

(a) Special School District No. 1 must make an additional employer
contribution to the Teachers Retirement Fund Association. The city of Minneapolis must
make a contribution to the Teachers Retirement Association. This contribution must be
made by a levy of the board of estimate and taxation of the city of Minneapolis and the
levy, if made, is classified as that of a special taxing district for purposes of sections
275.065 and 276.04, and for all other property tax purposes.

(b) deleted text begin $1,125,000 deleted text end new text begin $1,250,000 new text end must be contributed by Special School District No.
1 and deleted text begin $1,125,000 deleted text end new text begin $1,250,000 new text end must be contributed by the city of Minneapolis to the
Teachers Retirement Association under paragraph (a), and the state shall pay to the
Teachers Retirement Association $2,500,000 each fiscal year. The superintendent of
Special School District No. 1, the mayor of the city of Minneapolis, and the executive
director of the Teachers Retirement Association shall jointly certify to the commissioner
of finance the total amount that has been contributed by Special School District No. 1
and by the city of Minneapolis to the Teachers Retirement Association. Any certification
to the commissioner of education must be made quarterly. If the total certifications for a
fiscal year exceed the maximum annual direct state matching aid amount in any quarter,
the amount of direct state matching aid payable to the Teachers Retirement Association
must be limited to the balance of the maximum annual direct state matching aid amount
available. The amount required under this paragraph, subject to the maximum direct state
matching aid amount, is appropriated annually to the commissioner of finance.

(c) The commissioner of finance may prescribe the form of the certifications
required under paragraph (b).

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 354B.21, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Default coverage.

(a) Prior to making an election under subdivision 2, or
if an eligible person fails to elect coverage by the plan under subdivision 2 or if the person
fails to make a timely election, the following retirement coverage applies:

(1) for employees of the board who are employed in faculty positions in the technical
colleges, in the state universities or in the community colleges, the retirement coverage
is by the plan established by this chapter;

(2) for employees of the board who are employed in faculty positions in the technical
colleges, the retirement coverage is by the plan established by this chapter unless on June
30, 1997, the employee was a member of the Teachers Retirement Association established
under chapter 354 and then the retirement coverage is by the Teachers Retirement
Association, or, unless the employee was a member of a first class city teacher retirement
fund established under chapter 354A on June 30, 1995, and then the retirement coverage
is by the Duluth Teachers Retirement Fund Association if the person was a member of
that plan on June 30, 1995, or the deleted text begin Minneapolis Teachers Retirement Fund Association deleted text end
new text begin Teachers Retirement Association new text end if the person was a member of deleted text begin that plan deleted text end new text begin the former
Minneapolis Teachers Retirement Fund Association new text end on June 30, 1995, or the St. Paul
Teachers Retirement Fund Association if the person was a member of that plan on June
30, 1995; and

(3) for employees of the board who are employed in eligible unclassified
administrative positions, the retirement coverage is by the plan established by this chapter.

(b) If an employee fails to correctly certify prior membership in the Teachers
Retirement Association to the Minnesota State colleges and Universities system, the
system shall not pay interest on employee contributions, employer contributions, and
additional employer contributions to the Teachers Retirement Association under section
354.52, subdivision 4.

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 355.01, subdivision 3h, is amended to read:

Subd. 3h.

Minneapolis teacher.

"Minneapolis teacher" means a person employed
by Special School District No. 1, Minneapolis, who holds a position covered by the
deleted text begin Minneapolis Teachers Retirement Fund Association established deleted text end new text begin Teachers Retirement
Association new text end under deleted text begin chapter 354A deleted text end new text begin section 354.70 new text end .

Sec. 7.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 423A.02, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Reallocation of amortization or supplementary amortization state
aid.

(a) Seventy percent of the difference between $5,720,000 and the current year
amortization aid or supplemental amortization aid distributed under subdivisions 1 and 1a
that is not distributed for any reason to a municipality for use by a local police or salaried
fire relief association must be distributed by the commissioner of revenue according to this
paragraph. The commissioner shall distribute 70 percent of the amounts derived under this
paragraph to the deleted text begin Minneapolis Teachers Retirement Fund Association deleted text end new text begin Teachers Retirement
Association new text end and 30 percent to the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association to
fund the unfunded actuarial accrued liabilities of the respective funds. These payments
shall be made on or before June 30 each fiscal year. The amount required under this
paragraph is appropriated annually from the general fund to the commissioner of revenue.
If deleted text begin either the Minneapolis Teachers Retirement Fund Association or deleted text end the St. Paul Teachers
Retirement Fund Association becomes deleted text begin funded at the funding ratio applicable to the
teachers retirement association based on the actuarial reports prepared by the actuary for
the Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement, then the commissioner shall
distribute that fund's share under this paragraph to the other fund. The appropriation
under this paragraph terminates when both funds become deleted text end fully funded new text begin , its eligibility for
this aid ceases new text end . Amounts remaining in the undistributed balance account at the end of the
biennium new text begin if aid eligibility ceases new text end cancel to the general fund.

(b) In order to receive amortization and supplementary amortization aid under
paragraph (a), Independent School District No. 625, St. Paul, must make contributions
to the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association in accordance with the following
schedule:

	Fiscal Year		Amount
	1996		$0
	1997		$0
	1998		$200,000
	1999		$400,000
	2000		$600,000
	2001 and thereafter		$800,000

(c) deleted text begin In order to receive amortization and supplementary amortization aid under
paragraph (a), deleted text end Special School District No. 1, Minneapolis, and the city of Minneapolis
must each make contributions to the deleted text begin Minneapolis Teachers Retirement Fund Association deleted text end
new text begin Teachers Retirement Association new text end in accordance with the following schedule:

	Fiscal Year	City amount		School district amount
	1996	$0		$0
	1997	$0		$0
	1998	$250,000		$250,000
	1999	$400,000		$400,000
	2000	$550,000		$550,000
	2001	$700,000		$700,000
	2002	$850,000		$850,000
	2003 and thereafter	$1,000,000		$1,000,000

(d) Money contributed under paragraph (a) and either paragraph (b) or (c), as
applicable, must be credited to a separate account in the applicable teachers retirement
fund and may not be used in determining any benefit increases. The separate account
terminates for a fund when the aid payments to the fund under paragraph (a) cease.

(e) Thirty percent of the difference between $5,720,000 and the current year
amortization aid or supplemental amortization aid under subdivisions 1 and 1a that is not
distributed for any reason to a municipality for use by a local police or salaried firefighter
relief association must be distributed under section 69.021, subdivision 7, paragraph (d),
as additional funding to support a minimum fire state aid amount for volunteer firefighter
relief associations. The amount required under this paragraph is appropriated annually
to the commissioner of revenue.

Sec. 8.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 423A.02, subdivision 5, is amended to read:

Subd. 5.

Termination of state aid programs.

The amortization state aid,
supplemental amortization state aid, and additional amortization state aid programs
terminate as of the December 31, next following the date of the actuarial valuation when
the deleted text begin assets of the Minneapolis Teachers Retirement Fund Association equal the actuarial
accrued liability of that plan and when the deleted text end assets of the St. Paul Teachers Retirement
Fund Association equal the actuarial accrued liability of that plan or December 31, 2009,
whichever is later.

Sec. 9. new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE.
new text end

new text begin Sections 1 to 3, 5, 6, and 8 are effective on the day following final enactment.
Sections 4 and 7 are effective retroactively from July 1, 2006.
new text end