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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 30, 2015 02:36 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Karen Boback |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Public Employee Pension Forfeiture (Former House Bill 1545) |
| Next week I am re-introducing HB 1545 from last session, an amendment to the Public Employee Pension Forfeiture Act. A substantially similar bill was passed by the House during the 2010-2011 Session by a vote of 201-0. Just like HB 1545 from the 2013-2014 Session, the bill amends the Public Employee Pension Forfeiture Act so that public employees and public officials who enter a plea of guilty, or are found guilty by a jury, will have to forfeit their pensions when they enter a guilty plea or when they are found guilty by a jury. This will end the practice of public officials or employees who have either admitted their guilt or have been found guilty by a jury of their peers from continuing to receive pension benefits even after their guilt has been established. As in the two prior sessions, the bill adds a number of crimes to the list which trigger forfeiture. Those include crimes committed by public employees against our most vulnerable citizens: (1) the offense of neglect of care-dependent person; (2) the offense of institutional sexual assault; and (3) the offense of endangering welfare of children. Last session, the General Assembly enacted legislation to make the institutional sexual assault statute apply to schools and day care centers. Just as with last session, I have added a provision which clarifies the term “student.” Under the bill, the term student means “an individual who is instructed by a school employee, supervised by a school employee, counseled by a school employee, or mentored by a school employee.” This language was added to address school employees who may not be teachers but nevertheless are employed by a school and commit sexual offenses against students. Please join me in cosponsoring this significant legislation. |
Introduced as HB787