1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to retirement; providing for increased annuity for surviving spouse of 
1.3 	employee killed while engaged in emergency response to flooding.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. INCREASED ANNUITY FOR SURVIVING SPOUSE OF EMPLOYEE 
1.6 	KILLED WHILE ENGAGED IN EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO FLOODING.
 1.7 	(a) Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 352.12, subdivision 2, a 
1.8 	surviving spouse or dependent child of an eligible person specified in paragraph (b) is 
1.9 	entitled to the benefit specified in paragraph (c).
1.10 	(b) An eligible person is a person who:
1.11 	(1) was born on November 7, 1971;
1.12 	(2) began working for the state in September 2002; and
1.13 	(3) was killed on March 22, 2011, while working as an employee of the Department 
1.14 	of Transportation attempting to alleviate damage from flooding by using a backhoe to clear 
1.15 	debris from a culvert that drains into the Minnesota River between St. Peter and Mankato.
1.16 	(c) The monthly annuity payable to the surviving spouse of an eligible person 
1.17 	specified in paragraph (b) must not be less than 50 percent of the average monthly salary 
1.18 	of the eligible person. The monthly annuity payable to the dependent child of an eligible 
1.19 	person specified in paragraph (b) must not be less than ten percent of the average monthly 
1.20 	salary of the eligible person, except that the monthly benefit for the family of the eligible 
1.21 	person must not exceed 70 percent of the average monthly salary of the eligible person.
1.22 	(d) A dependent child over 18 and under 23 years of age also may receive the 
1.23 	monthly benefit provided in this section if the child is continuously attending an accredited 
1.24 	school as a full-time student during the normal school year as determined by the director. 
2.1 	If the child does not continuously attend school, but separates from full-time attendance 
2.2 	during any part of a school year, the annuity must cease at the end of the month of 
2.3 	separation.
2.4 	(e) Payments for the benefit of any dependent child must be made to the surviving 
2.5 	spouse or, if there is none, to the legal guardian of the child.
2.6 	(f) "Average salary" has the meaning given in Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 
2.7 	352.01, subdivision 14a.

2.8 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective retroactively from March 22, 2011.