HF 2360

as introduced - 87th Legislature (2011 - 2012) Posted on 02/20/2012 01:07pm

A bill for an act
relating to retirement; defined benefit retirement plans administered by the Public
Employees Retirement Association; increasing minimum monthly salary amount
for plan coverage eligibility; amending Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 353.01,
subdivision 2b, by adding a subdivision; Minnesota Statutes 2011 Supplement,
section 353.01, subdivision 2a.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2011 Supplement, section 353.01, subdivision 2a,
is amended to read:

Subd. 2a.

Included employees; mandatory membership.

(a) Public employees
whose salary exceeds deleted text begin $425 in any month deleted text end new text begin the minimum monthly salary figure under
subdivision 2e new text end and who are not specifically excluded under subdivision 2b or who have
not been provided an option to participate under subdivision 2d, whether individually or
by action of the governmental subdivision, must participate as members of the association
with retirement coverage by the general employees retirement plan under this chapter,
the public employees police and fire retirement plan under this chapter, or the local
government correctional employees retirement plan under chapter 353E, whichever
applies. Membership commences as a condition of their employment on the first day of
their employment or on the first day that the eligibility criteria are met, whichever is later.
Public employees include but are not limited to:

(1) persons whose salary meets the threshold in this paragraph from employment in
one or more positions within one governmental subdivision;

(2) elected county sheriffs;

(3) persons who are appointed, employed, or contracted to perform governmental
functions that by law or local ordinance are required of a public officer, including, but
not limited to:

(i) town and city clerk or treasurer;

(ii) county auditor, treasurer, or recorder;

(iii) city manager as defined in section 353.028 who does not exercise the option
provided under subdivision 2d; or

(iv) emergency management director, as provided under section 12.25;

(4) physicians under section 353D.01, subdivision 2, who do not elect public
employees defined contribution plan coverage under section 353D.02, subdivision 2;

(5) full-time employees of the Dakota County Agricultural Society;

(6) employees of the Minneapolis Firefighters Relief Association or Minneapolis
Police Relief Association who are not excluded employees under subdivision 2b due
to coverage by the relief association pension plan and who elected general employee
retirement plan coverage before August 20, 2009; and

(7) employees of the Red Wing Port Authority who were first employed by the
Red Wing Port Authority before May 1, 2011, and who are not excluded employees
under subdivision 2b.

(b) A public employee or elected official who was a member of the association on
June 30, 2002, based on employment that qualified for membership coverage by the public
employees retirement plan or the public employees police and fire plan under this chapter,
or the local government correctional employees retirement plan under chapter 353E as of
June 30, 2002, retains that membership for the duration of the person's employment in that
position or incumbency in elected office. Except as provided in subdivision 28, the person
shall participate as a member until the employee or elected official terminates public
employment under subdivision 11a or terminates membership under subdivision 11b.

(c) If the salary of an included public employee is less than deleted text begin $425 deleted text end new text begin the minimum
monthly salary figure under subdivision 2e new text end in any subsequent month, the member retains
membership eligibility.

(d) For the purpose of participation in the MERF division of the general employees
retirement plan, public employees include employees who were members of the former
Minneapolis Employees Retirement Fund on June 29, 2010, and who participate as
members of the MERF division of the association.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective July 1, 2012.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 353.01, subdivision 2b, is amended to read:

Subd. 2b.

Excluded employees.

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

(1) persons whose salary from one governmental subdivision never exceeds deleted text begin $425 deleted text end
new text begin the minimum monthly salary figure under subdivision 2e new text end in a month;

(2) public officers who are elected to a governing body, city mayors, 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;

(3) election officers or election judges;

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

(5) 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;

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

(7) 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, the St. Paul Teachers
Retirement Fund Association, 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;

(8) 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;

(9) 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;

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

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

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

(13) except for employees of Hennepin County or Hennepin Healthcare System, Inc.,
foreign citizens who are employed by a governmental subdivision under a work permit, or
an H-1b visa initially issued or extended for a combined period less than three years of
employment. Upon extension of the employment beyond the three-year period, the foreign
citizens must be reported for membership beginning the first of the month thereafter
provided the monthly earnings threshold as provided under subdivision 2a is met;

(14) 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;

(15) 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 general employees
retirement plan or the public employees police and fire plan, whichever applies, on the
basis of compensation received from public employment service other than service as
volunteer ambulance service personnel;

(16) except as provided in section 353.87, volunteer firefighters, as defined in
subdivision 36, engaging in activities undertaken as part of volunteer firefighter duties,
but 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 general employees retirement plan or the public employees police
and fire plan, whichever applies, on the basis of compensation received from public
employment activities other than those as a volunteer firefighter;

(17) 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;

(18) electrical workers, plumbers, carpenters, and associated trades personnel who
are 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 pension plan applicable to Carpenters Local 87 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;

(19) bricklayers, allied craftworkers, cement masons, glaziers, glassworkers,
painters, allied tradesworkers, and plasterers who are 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;

(20) plumbers who are 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;

(21) 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;

(22) 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;

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

(24) reemployed annuitants of the association during the course of that
reemployment; and

(25) persons appointed to serve on a board or commission of a governmental
subdivision or an instrumentality thereof.

(b) Any person performing the duties of a public officer in a position defined in
subdivision 2a, paragraph (a), clause (3), is not an independent contractor and is not an
employee of an independent contractor.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective July 1, 2012.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 353.01, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 2e. new text end

new text begin Minimum monthly salary amount requirement. new text end

new text begin The minimum
monthly salary amount required for membership under subdivision 2a is:
new text end

new text begin (1) $425 in any month before July 1, 2012;
new text end

new text begin (2) $773 in any month from July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2013; and
new text end

new text begin (3) $773 plus an amount, rounded up or down to the nearest full dollar amount,
representing the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index-All Urban Consumers
reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor from
December 2011 to the most recent prior December, as determined and published by the
executive director annually after June 30, 2013.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective July 1, 2012.
new text end