A00075
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
60
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY COX, BARRAR, BERNSTINE, DIAMOND, GILLEN, GROVE,
HEFFLEY, IRVIN, JAMES, JOZWIAK, KAUFFMAN, KEEFER, MENTZER,
B. MILLER, PICKETT, ROTHMAN, RYAN, ZIMMERMAN AND HERSHEY,
JANUARY 28, 2019
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, JANUARY 28, 2019
AN ACT
Amending Title 71 (State Government) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in preliminary provisions relating to
retirement for State employees and officers, further
providing for definitions.; in contributions, further
providing for contributions to the system by the Commonwealth
and other employers and for actuarial cost method; and, in
administration, funds, accounts, general provisions, further
providing for administrative duties of the board and for
State accumulation account.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The definition of "State employee" in section
5102 of Title 71 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes is
amended to read:
§ 5102. Definitions.
The following words and phrases as used in this part, unless
a different meaning is plainly required by the context, shall
have the following meanings:
* * *
"State employee." Any person holding a State office or
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position under the Commonwealth, employed by the State
Government of the Commonwealth, in any capacity whatsoever,
except an independent contractor or any person compensated on a
fee basis or any person paid directly by an entity other than a
State Employees' Retirement System employer, and shall include
members of the General Assembly, and any officer or employee of
the following:
(1) (i) The Department of Education.
(ii) State-owned educational institutions.
(iii) Community colleges.
(iv) The Pennsylvania State University, except an
employee in the College of Agriculture who is paid wholly
from Federal funds or an employee who is participating in
the Federal Civil Service Retirement System. The
university shall be totally responsible for all employer
contributions under section 5507 (relating to
contributions to the system by the Commonwealth and other
employers) and all employer defined contributions to the
trust under section 5806 (relating to employer defined
contributions).
(2) The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, the Delaware
River Port Authority, the Port Authority Transit Corporation,
the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, the Delaware River
Joint Toll Bridge Commission, the State Public School
Building Authority, The General State Authority, the State
Highway and Bridge Authority, the Delaware Valley Regional
Planning Commission[,] and the Interstate Commission of the
Delaware River Basin[, and the Susquehanna River Basin
Commission] any time subsequent to its creation, provided the
commission or authority agrees to contribute and does
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contribute to the fund or trust, from time to time, the
moneys required to build up the reserves necessary for the
payment of the annuities or other benefits of such officers
and employees without any liability on the part of the
Commonwealth to make appropriations for such purposes, and
provided in the case of employees of the Interstate
Commission of the Delaware River Basin, that the employee
shall have been a member of the system for at least ten years
prior to January 1, 1963.
(3) Any separate independent public corporation created
by statute, not including any municipal or quasi-municipal
corporation, so long as he remains an officer or employee of
such public corporation, and provided that such officer or
employee of such public corporation was an employee of the
Commonwealth immediately prior to his employment by such
corporation, and further provided such public corporation
shall agree to contribute and contributes to the fund or
trust, from time to time, the moneys required to build up the
reserves necessary for the payment of the annuities or other
benefits of such officers and employees without any liability
on the part of the Commonwealth to make appropriations for
such purposes.
* * *
Section 2. Sections 5507 and 5508 of Title 71 are amended by
adding subsections to read:
§ 5507. Contributions to the system by the Commonwealth and
other employers.
* * *
(c.1) Additional Payments by the Susquehanna River Basin
Commission.--In addition to all other contributions required
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under this section and section 5508, the Susquehanna River Basin
Commission shall make additional contributions pursuant to
section 5508(j) as certified by the board.
* * *
§ 5508. Actuarial cost method.
* * *
(j) Additional contributions from the Susquehanna River
Basin Commission.--
(1) In addition to all other contributions otherwise
required to be paid to the board by the Susquehanna River
Basin Commission under sections 5507 and this section as
certified by the board under section 5902(k) (relating to
administrative duties of the board), the Susquehanna River
Basin Commission shall make the additional payments specified
in this subsection as certified by the board pursuant to
section 5902(k).
(2) The additional payments under this subsection shall
be the amounts determined by the actuary as necessary to fund
the liabilities for all benefits accrued or accruing to
current and former employees of the Susquehanna River Basin
Commission who are or were active members of the system that
are not otherwise funded by the regular member contributions,
shared-risk member contributions, additional member
contributions and Social Security integration member
contributions of those members and by employer contributions
made by the Susquehanna River Basin Commission pursuant to
section 5507.
(3) The additional payments under this subsection shall
be made in the amounts, time and manner determined by the
board over a period not less than ten years from the
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beginning of the first fiscal year starting after the annual
valuation immediately after the effective date of this
subsection, unless the Susquehanna River Basin Commission
agrees to a shorter period.
Section 3. Sections 5902(k) and 5934 of Title 71 are amended
to read:
§ 5902. Administrative duties of the board.
* * *
(k) Certification of employer contributions to fund.--The
board shall, each year in addition to the itemized budget
required under section 5509 (relating to appropriations and
assessments by the Commonwealth), certify, as a percentage of
the members' payroll, the shared-risk contribution rate, the
shared-gain adjustment to the regular member contribution rate,
the employers' contributions as determined pursuant to section
5508 (relating to actuarial cost method) necessary for the
funding of prospective annuities for active members and the
annuities of annuitants and certify the rates and amounts of the
employers' normal contributions as determined pursuant to
section 5508(b), accrued liability contributions as determined
pursuant to section 5508(c), supplemental annuities contribution
rate as determined pursuant to section 5508(e), the experience
adjustment factor as determined pursuant to section 5508(f), the
collared contribution rate pursuant to section 5508(h) [and],
the final contribution rate pursuant to section 5508(i) and the
additional contribution by the Susquehanna River Basin
Commission pursuant to section 5508(j), which shall be paid to
the fund and credited to the appropriate accounts. The board may
allocate the final contribution rate and certify various
employer contribution rates and amounts based upon the different
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benefit eligibility, class of service multiplier, superannuation
age, final average salary calculation, compensation limits and
other benefit differences resulting from State service credited
for individual members even though such allocated employer
contribution rate on behalf of any given member may be more or
less than 5% of the member's compensation for the period from
July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011, or may differ from the prior
year's contribution for that member by more or less than the
percentages used to calculate the collared contribution rate for
that year and may be below any minimum contribution rate
established for the collared contribution rate or final
contribution rate. These certifications shall be regarded as
final and not subject to modification by the Secretary of the
Budget.
* * *
§ 5934. State accumulation account.
The State accumulation account shall be the ledger account to
which shall be credited all contributions of the Commonwealth or
other employers whose employees are members of the system and
made in accordance with the provisions of section 5507(a) or (d)
(relating to contributions to the system by the Commonwealth and
other employers) except that the amounts received under the
provisions of the act of May 12, 1943 (P.L.259, No.120), and the
amounts received under the provisions of the Liquor Code, act of
April 12, 1951 (P.L.90, No.21), shall be credited to the State
Police benefit account or the enforcement officers' benefit
account as the case may be. All amounts transferred to the fund
by county retirement systems or pension plans in accordance with
the provisions of section 5507(c) also shall be credited to the
State accumulation account. All amounts transferred to the fund
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by the Public School Employees' Retirement System in accordance
with section 5303.2(e) (relating to election to convert school
service to State service), except amounts credited to the
members' savings account, and all amounts paid by the Department
of Corrections in accordance with section 5303.2(f) also shall
be credited to the State accumulation account. All additional
payments made by the Susquehanna River Basin Commission in
accordance with the provisions of section 5507(c.1) (relating to
contributions to the system by the Commonwealth and other
employers) shall be credited to the State accumulation account.
The State accumulation account shall be credited with valuation
interest. The reserves necessary for the payment of annuities
and death benefits resulting from membership in the system as
approved by the board and as provided in Chapter 57 (relating to
benefits) shall be transferred from the State accumulation
account to the annuity reserve account provided for in section
5935 (relating to annuity reserve account), except that the
reserves necessary on account of a member who is an officer of
the Pennsylvania State Police or an enforcement officer shall be
transferred from the State accumulation account to the State
Police benefit account provided for in section 5936 (relating to
State Police benefit account) or to the enforcement officers'
benefit account as provided for in section 5937 (relating to
enforcement officers' benefit account) as the case may be. The
reserves necessary for the payment of supplemental annuities in
excess of those reserves credited to the supplemental annuity
account on June 30, 2010, shall be transferred from the State
accumulation account to the supplemental annuity account. In the
event that supplemental annuities are increased by legislation
enacted after December 31, 2009, the necessary reserves shall be
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transferred from the State accumulation account to the
supplemental annuity account.
Section 2 4. The amendment of the definition of "State
employee" in 71 Pa.C.S. § 5102 shall apply to employees of the
Susquehanna River Basin Commission whose most recent date of
hire by the commission is on or after the effective date of this
section.
Section 3 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
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