PRINTER'S NO. 1392
No. 1220 Session of 1987
INTRODUCED BY STEVENS, WOGAN, KOSINSKI, TRELLO AND PETRONE,
APRIL 29, 1987
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, APRIL 29, 1987
AN ACT
1 Providing for an ad hoc postretirement adjustment for certain
2 retired members of the Pennsylvania State Police and Capitol
3 Police and Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board enforcement
4 officers.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Short title.
8 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Special Ad
9 Hoc Pennsylvania State Police, Capitol Police and Pennsylvania
10 Liquor Control Board Enforcement Officers Postretirement
11 Adjustment Act.
12 Section 2. Definitions.
13 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
14 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
15 context clearly indicates otherwise:
16 "Active employment." The situation of a person, other than
17 an independent contractor, who performs for compensation regular
18 services for the Commonwealth on active duty as a Pennsylvania
1 State Police officer, Capitol Police officer or liquor law
2 enforcement officer and who is regularly entered on the payroll
3 of the Commonwealth.
4 "Commission." The Public Employee Retirement Study
5 Commission created by the act of July 9, 1981 (P.L.208, No.66),
6 known as the Public Employee Retirement Study Commission Act.
7 "Commonwealth." The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or any of
8 its agencies or instrumentalities.
9 "Commonwealth pension plan." A relationship between the
10 Commonwealth and a Pennsylvania State Police officer, Capitol
11 Police officer or liquor law enforcement officer with respect to
12 the provision of benefits in the event of retirement from active
13 employment, established under the laws of this Commonwealth.
14 "Police officer." A sworn member of the Pennsylvania State
15 Police, a sworn member of the Capitol Police or a liquor law
16 enforcement officer whose primary responsibility is the
17 enforcement of the liquor laws of this Commonwealth and who has
18 retirement coverage provided by a pension plan to which an
19 allocation of the proceeds of the foreign casualty insurance
20 premium tax under the act of May 12, 1943 (P.L.259, No.120),
21 referred to as the Foreign Casualty Insurance Premium Tax
22 Allocation Law, is ultimately payable.
23 "Postretirement adjustment." An increase in or change in the
24 amount of a retirement annuity, retirement benefit, disability
25 benefit or service pension granted or effective after the date
26 on which active employment ceases.
27 Section 3. Special ad hoc Pennsylvania State Police, Capitol
28 Police and Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board
29 enforcement
30 officers' postretirement adjustments.
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1 (a) Entitlement.--A person may receive a special ad hoc
2 Pennsylvania State Police, Capitol Police and Pennsylvania
3 Liquor Control Board enforcement officers' postretirement
4 adjustment from the Commonwealth pension plan calculated under
5 this section if all of the following apply:
6 (1) The person has terminated active employment with the
7 Commonwealth as a full-time Pennsylvania State Police
8 officer, Capitol Police officer or Pennsylvania Liquor
9 Control Board enforcement officer.
10 (2) The person is receiving a retirement annuity,
11 retirement benefit, service pension or disability benefit
12 from the Commonwealth pension plan on the basis of that
13 active employment.
14 (3) The person began to receive the annuity, pension or
15 benefit on or prior to December 31, 1981.
16 (b) Amount.--The amount of the special ad hoc Pennsylvania
17 State Police, Capitol Police and Pennsylvania Liquor Control
18 Board enforcement officers' postretirement adjustment shall be
19 an amount equal to the number of full years during which the
20 person has received an annuity, pension or benefit from the
21 Commonwealth pension plan multiplied by 3.125% and applied to
22 the annuity, pension or benefit amount initially payable upon
23 retirement. If the person is receiving a benefit other than a
24 disability benefit and began to receive that benefit at an age
25 earlier than 55 years of age or had credit for less than 25
26 years of active service at the time of retirement, the number of
27 full years for use in calculating the amount of the
28 postretirement adjustment shall be reduced by the number of
29 years by which the person was under 55 years of age at the time
30 of retirement or by the number of years by which the active
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1 service to the credit of the person is less than 25 years,
2 whichever is greater. However, if the Commonwealth pension plan
3 under which the Pennsylvania State Police officer, Capitol
4 Police officer or Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board enforcement
5 officer is receiving benefits had a superannuation age lower
6 than 55 years, then there shall be no reduction, provided that
7 the officer had, in fact, reached the superannuation age
8 provided for in the pension plan of the Commonwealth.
9 (c) Reduction of prior benefits.--Nothing in this section
10 shall be construed to reduce the amount of an annuity, benefit
11 or pension payable immediately prior to the effective date of
12 this act.
13 (d) Payment.--The special ad hoc postretirement adjustment
14 shall be effective as of the date of payment of the annuity,
15 benefit or pension next following the effective date of this act
16 and shall be payable as soon as practicable thereafter. The
17 initial payment of the special ad hoc postretirement adjustment
18 shall include omitted payments payable between the effective
19 date of the ad hoc postretirement adjustment and the date of
20 initial payment.
21 Section 4. Funding of special ad hoc postretirement adjustment.
22 (a) Commonwealth obligation.--Annually the Commonwealth
23 shall provide in its budget and shall pay to the applicable
24 Commonwealth pension plan an amount equal to the required
25 contribution to amortize the liability attributable to the
26 special ad hoc postretirement adjustment on a level dollar basis
27 over a ten-year period from the effective date of the adjustment
28 or the total amount of the special ad hoc postretirement
29 adjustment anticipated as payable to entitled recipients during
30 the following 12-month period, whichever is greater. The
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1 Commonwealth obligation shall be payable on January 1, annually,
2 and shall be made from the revenues of the Commonwealth. Any
3 amount of the Commonwealth obligation which remains unpaid after
4 January 1 of the year in which the Commonwealth obligation is
5 due shall remain payable with interest from January 1 of the
6 year in which the Commonwealth obligation was first due until
7 the date the payment is paid at a rate:
8 (1) equal to the interest assumption used in connection
9 with the most recent actuarial valuation report of the
10 applicable pension plan or the discount rate applicable to
11 Treasury bills issued by the United States Treasury
12 Department with a six-month maturity in effect as of the last
13 business day in December of the year preceding the year in
14 which the obligation was due, whichever rate is greater; and
15 (2) expressed as a monthly rate and compounded monthly.
16 (b) Source of funds.--The special ad hoc Pennsylvania State
17 Police, Capitol Police and Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board
18 Enforcement Officer Postretirement Adjustment Reimbursement
19 Program shall be funded from the required portion of the
20 proceeds of the tax on domestic casualty insurance premiums and
21 the proceeds of the tax on domestic fire insurance premiums in
22 proportion to the relationship that the proceeds of each tax
23 bear to the total proceeds of both taxes. Annually, the
24 Department of the Auditor General shall certify to the General
25 Assembly the applicable Commonwealth share percentage.
26 Section 5. Failure to enact legislation.
27 (a) Action in mandamus.--Should the Commonwealth fail to
28 enact the required legislation, any police or liquor law
29 enforcement officer may, by suit in mandamus, compel the
30 Commonwealth authorities to enact the legislation.
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1 (b) Duty to enact legislation.--Generally, in the event that
2 the Commonwealth fails to enact the required legislation, the
3 failure may be remedied by an action in mandamus. The
4 Commonwealth is, by this act, on notice as to its duty to enact
5 this required legislation. No remedy at law shall be deemed to
6 be sufficiently adequate and appropriate to bar the commencement
7 of this action. Any person or entity who institutes the action
8 shall be deemed to have been injured by the failure of the
9 Commonwealth to comply with its legal duty to enact the
10 legislation and that injury shall be deemed to be immediate. No
11 issuance of mandamus shall be deemed to threaten the creation of
12 confusion, disorder or excessive burden on the Commonwealth or
13 to threaten a result which is detrimental to the public
14 interest.
15 (c) Persons beneficially interested.--Any person who is
16 beneficially interested in the affairs of the Commonwealth
17 pension plan shall have standing to institute an action in
18 mandamus under this section. A beneficially interested person is
19 any person who:
20 (1) has any of the following relationships with the
21 Commonwealth pension plan:
22 (i) An active member, whether or not any minimum
23 service requirement for acquiring a vested right to a
24 retirement benefit has been met.
25 (ii) An inactive member with a vested right to
26 deferred receipt of a retirement benefit.
27 (iii) A retired member.
28 (iv) A recipient of retirement benefit other than a
29 retired member.
30 (v) A former member with member contributions to the
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1 credit of the member with the Commonwealth pension plan.
2 (vi) A spouse, child or other potential beneficiary
3 under the terms of the plan document of the Commonwealth
4 pension plan of any person described in subparagraphs (i)
5 and (v).
6 (2) serves in the position of a fiduciary with respect
7 to the Commonwealth pension plan;
8 (3) represents active members of the Commonwealth
9 pension plan as collective bargaining agent; or
10 (4) serves as an elected or appointed official of the
11 Commonwealth.
12 (d) Others with standing to bring action.--The commission
13 shall have standing to institute an action in mandamus under
14 this section. The Attorney General, in addition to any other
15 powers and duties conferred on that office by law, shall also
16 proceed in the name of the Commonwealth, upon request of the
17 commission or upon the request of any beneficially interested
18 person, to institute an action in mandamus under this section.
19 (e) Scope of remedy.--Any writ of mandamus issued under this
20 section may compel the addition by the Commonwealth to the
21 current Commonwealth budget of any omitted amount of the minimum
22 obligation of the Commonwealth and the subsequent payment of any
23 budgeted amount or the immediate or scheduled periodic payment
24 of any omitted amount of minimum obligation of the Commonwealth
25 with interest at the applicable compound rate, whichever is
26 applicable.
27 (f) Reimbursement for certain costs.--In any action under
28 this section which is instituted or joined by any person who is
29 beneficially interested, unless the court otherwise directs,
30 costs, disbursements, reasonable attorney fees and witness fees
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1 relating to the action shall be allowed to the prevailing party
2 upon a motion by the prevailing party if:
3 (1) the prevailing party is a person who is beneficially
4 interested and has given the opposing party or parties timely
5 notice of intent to claim an award, which notice shall have
6 been given prior to the issuance of the writ of mandamus; or
7 (2) the prevailing party is the Commonwealth and the
8 complaining party has brought an action which the complaining
9 party knew or ought to have known was groundless, frivolous,
10 without merit and without a basis in fact.
11 Section 6. Enforcement proceedings by commission.
12 Whenever the commission is of the opinion that the
13 Commonwealth has failed, omitted, neglected or refused to
14 perform any duty imposed upon it under this act, the commission
15 shall have the power and its duty shall be to order compliance
16 by the Commonwealth with that duty. If the Commonwealth fails,
17 omits, neglects or refuses to comply with any lawful order of
18 the commission, then the commission may institute legal
19 proceedings for injunction, mandamus or other appropriate remedy
20 at law or in equity to enforce compliance with, or restrain
21 violation of, the order of the commission.
22 Section 7. Effective date.
23 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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