House Bill hb0933

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                 HB 933

        By Representatives Miller, Maygarden, Melvin and Benson






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the General Pension and

  3         Retirement Fund of the City of Pensacola,

  4         Escambia County; amending chapter 99-474, Laws

  5         of Florida, as amended by chapter 2000-470,

  6         Laws of Florida; converting said act as amended

  7         to an ordinance of the City of Pensacola;

  8         revising definitions; revising provisions

  9         relating to designation of employee

10         contributions; revising provisions relating to

11         refund of contributions with less than 10 years

12         of credited service; revising provisions

13         relating to disability injury or illness in

14         line of duty and for disability injury or

15         illness not in the line of duty; revising

16         provisions relating to other benefit

17         provisions; providing for protection of

18         benefits from legal process; revising

19         provisions for investment of funds; providing

20         for repeal of conflicting laws; providing an

21         effective date.

22  

23  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

24  

25         Section 1.  Section 2 of chapter 99-474, Laws of

26  Florida, as amended by chapter 2000-470, Laws of Florida, is

27  amended to read:

28         Section 2.  Definitions.--The words and phrases as used

29  in this act shall have the following meanings unless a

30  different meaning is plainly required by the context:

31  

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  1         (1)  Act.--The General Pension and Retirement Fund

  2  Special Act.

  3         (2)  Actuary.--The person, firm, or corporation, one of

  4  whose officers shall be a member of the Society of Actuaries

  5  and an enrolled actuary, as defined by the Employee Retirement

  6  Income Security Act of 1974, authorized by the board of

  7  trustees of the fund to render actuarial services to the fund.

  8         (3)  Average monthly salary.--One twenty-fourth of the

  9  salary of the 2 best years of the last 5 years of credited

10  service prior to retirement or death.

11         (4)  Bank of national repute.--See investment bank of

12  national repute.

13         (4)(5)  Beneficiary.--Person so designated in writing

14  by a member of the general pension plan who may become

15  entitled to receive a refund of contributions made by a member

16  of the plan.

17         (5)(6)  Best 2 years.--Two separate periods of 365

18  consecutive days.

19         (6)(7)  Board of trustees, the board, or the general

20  pension board.--The pension board, consisting of six members

21  as provided in this act.

22         (7)(8)  City.--The City of Pensacola.

23         (8)(9)  City council.--The city council of the City of

24  Pensacola.

25         (9)(10)  Code.--Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as

26  amended.

27         (10)(11)  Credited service years or credited years of

28  service.--A period of service years credited to a member of

29  the plan in which the member has contributed an amount to the

30  General Pension and Retirement Fund, as provided in this act.

31  

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  1         (11)(12)  Dependent.--The spouse or dependent children

  2  under the age of 18 of a member of the plan.

  3         (12)(13)  Dependent children.--A son or daughter under

  4  18 years of age who is born in wedlock to a member of the

  5  plan; and/or a child under 18 years of age adopted by a member

  6  of the plan; and/or a child under 18 years of age dependent

  7  upon a member of the plan for support whose dependency is

  8  proven to the satisfaction of the board or, in the

  9  alternative, whose dependency has been established by a final

10  court order.

11         (13)(14)  Disability.--Physical or mental impairment

12  which renders an employee partially and permanently or totally

13  and permanently unable to perform the duties of his or her

14  employment or unable to perform any substantial gainful

15  employment.

16         (14)(15)  ECUA.--Escambia County Utilities Authority.

17         (15)(16)  General Pension and Retirement Fund, general

18  pension plan, or the plan.--The special fund created

19  exclusively for the purposes provided in this act.

20         (17)  Investment bank of national repute.--A bank

21  having trust powers or a trust company which is experienced in

22  the fiduciary investment of pension funds from more than one

23  state.

24         (16)(18)  Line of duty.--Within the scope of employment

25  as an employee of the city during such times as such employee

26  was rendering services to the city.

27         (17)(19)  Major fraction of a year.--For calculation of

28  benefits in this act, 6 months and 1 day.

29         (18)(20)  Member of the plan.--An individual who has

30  been credited with a period of service under the plan and has

31  contributed an amount to the plan, as provided in this act.

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  1         (19)(21)  Nonemployment.--Any period of time an

  2  individual is not employed in any capacity by the City of

  3  Pensacola.

  4         (20)(22)  Normal retirement and early retirement.--Any

  5  retirement not based upon a disability, illness, or injury.

  6         (21)(23)  Plan.--The General Pension and Retirement

  7  Fund.

  8         (22)(24)  Plan administrator.--The Director of Finance

  9  of the City of Pensacola.

10         (23)(25)  Pensioner.--A member of the plan who has

11  drawn or is drawing a pension under the provisions of this

12  act.

13         (24)(26)  Permanent full-time employee.--A person

14  employed by the city, working an established work period set

15  forth by city policy, and not employed on a part-time,

16  temporary, or specified timeframe basis.

17         (25)(27)  Refund of contributions.--The distribution of

18  funds contributed by a member of the plan.

19         (26)(28)  Retiree.--A member of the plan, or a

20  dependent of a member, who has drawn or is drawing a pension

21  under the provisions of this act.

22         (27)(29)  Salary.--The total cash remuneration paid to

23  the member of the plan by the city for services rendered

24  before all pretax, salary deferral, or salary reduction

25  contributions made to the General Pension and Retirement Fund

26  on behalf of the general pension plan member under section

27  404(h)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code and any code section

28  457 plan and section 125 plan of the city. Unless otherwise

29  provided by the city council, "salary" shall exclude any

30  educational incentive pay, field training pay, certificate

31  pay, specialized duty pay, pistol qualifications pay, clothing

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  1  allowance, education benefit, accumulated sick leave pay at

  2  retirement, accumulated vacation pay at retirement, shift

  3  differential pay, nonsubstantiated business expenses, noncash

  4  benefits such as employer-provided vehicles, or any other

  5  city-provided benefit, severance pay, or similar lump-sum

  6  payment made upon separation of service, and any other pay

  7  excluded by the city council.

  8         (28)(30)  Service under the plan.--A period of service

  9  years credited to a member of the plan, during which the

10  member has contributed an amount to the General Pension and

11  Retirement Fund, as provided in this act.

12         (29)(31)  Spouse.--Under the laws of the State of

13  Florida, the legally married husband or wife of the member of

14  the plan.

15         (30)(32)  Surviving spouse.--The legally married

16  husband or wife of a member of the plan who outlives the

17  member of the plan.

18         (31)(33)  Vested member or vesting right.--A member of

19  the plan who has a right, or the right itself, to future

20  pension benefits as provided in this act.

21         Section 2.  Section 11 of chapter 99-474, Laws of

22  Florida, is amended to read:

23         Section 11.  Designation of employee contributions.--

24         (1)  For the purposes of section 414(h) of the Internal

25  Revenue Code, the contributions made by each employee to the

26  General Pension and Retirement Fund shall be designated as

27  "employer contributions." However, such designation is

28  contingent upon the contributions being excluded from the

29  employee's gross income for federal income tax purposes. Such

30  contributions shall, nevertheless, be subject to refund or

31  

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  1  return to the employee upon termination of employment, or

  2  otherwise as provided in this act.

  3         (2)  If for any reason the employee has received a

  4  payment of benefits under the plan at any prior time, the

  5  employee's contributions will be reduced for all such prior

  6  payments. Such adjustment shall be paid first from after-tax

  7  contributions then to the pre-tax contributions of the

  8  employee.

  9         Section 3.  Section 20 of chapter 99-474, Laws of

10  Florida, is amended to read:

11         Section 20.  Refund of contributions with less than 10

12  credited years of service, except for disability or death in

13  the line of duty.--

14         (1)  In the event any member of the plan with less than

15  10 credited years of service separates from service, except

16  for disability or death in the line of duty, such member or

17  the decedent's dependent or beneficiary shall receive a refund

18  of the member's contributions to the plan.

19         (a)  The maximum amount of a refund of contributions

20  shall equal the amount of contributions by the member of the

21  plan less any amount of pension benefit received by the member

22  of the plan and/or the member's dependents.

23         (b)  An election of the form Distribution election and

24  distribution of a refund of contributions shall be made within

25  90 days after eligibility. If no election is made,

26  distribution shall be in a lump-sum payment.

27         (c)  Any refund of the member's contributions under

28  this act shall be in full satisfaction of any and all claims

29  by any person against the General Pension and Retirement Fund.

30         (2)  The service years shall be computed on the basis

31  of the total credited service years under the plan, either

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  1  continuous or by totaling separate or discontinuous periods

  2  for the required total period. A major fraction of a year of

  3  credited service shall not be computed as a whole year for the

  4  purpose of vesting rights.

  5         (3)  There shall be no minimum years of service

  6  requirement for disability or death of a member in the line of

  7  duty. In such event, the plan member's dependents are entitled

  8  to receive a pension as provided for under this act.

  9         Section 4.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section

10  21 of chapter 99-474, Laws of Florida, is amended to read:

11         Section 21.  Disability injury or illness in line of

12  duty.--If any member of the plan, due to injury or illness in

13  the line of duty, makes application for retirement and is

14  entitled to the benefits under this act, the General Pension

15  and Retirement Fund of the city shall pay according to the

16  following schedule:

17         (5)  In the event any member of the plan becomes

18  disabled in the line of duty while employed, such member shall

19  receive a pension benefit as provided in this section or, upon

20  request, in lieu of a pension benefit, shall receive a refund

21  of the member's contributions to the General Pension and

22  Retirement Fund.

23         (b)  An election of the form Distribution election and

24  distribution of a refund of contributions shall be made within

25  90 days after eligibility. If no election is made,

26  distribution shall be in a lump-sum payment.

27         Section 5.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section

28  23 of chapter 99-474, Laws of Florida, as amended by chapter

29  2000-470, Laws of Florida, is amended to read:

30         Section 23.  Disability injury or illness not in the

31  line of duty.--

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  1         (5)  In the event any member of the plan with less than

  2  10 years of credited service under the plan becomes totally or

  3  partially disabled not in the line of duty and such member is

  4  disabled to such an extent that he or she cannot properly

  5  discharge the duties of his or her employment, such member

  6  shall receive, in lieu of a pension, a refund of the total

  7  amount of his or her contributions to the General Pension and

  8  Retirement Fund. A major fraction of a year of credited

  9  service shall not be computed as a whole year for the purpose

10  of vesting rights.

11         (b)  An election of the form Distribution election and

12  distribution of a refund of contributions shall be made within

13  90 days after eligibility. If no election is made,

14  distribution shall be in a lump-sum payment.

15         Section 6.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section

16  24 of chapter 99-474, Laws of Florida, as amended by chapter

17  2000-470, Laws of Florida, is amended to read:

18         Section 24.  Other benefit provisions.--

19         (3)  In the event any member of the plan with 10 or

20  more credited service years under the plan dies or otherwise

21  separates from service of the city, such member or the

22  deceased member's dependent shall, upon request, receive a

23  refund of the member's contributions to the General Pension

24  and Retirement Fund in lieu of a pension benefit.

25         (b)  An election of the form Distribution election and

26  distribution of a refund of contributions shall be made within

27  90 days after eligibility. If no election is made,

28  distribution shall be in a lump-sum payment.

29         Section 7.  Section 35 of chapter 99-474, Laws of

30  Florida, is amended to read:

31  

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  1         Section 35.  Protection of benefits from legal process.

  2  The pension and other benefits accrued or accruing to any

  3  person under this pension plan and the accumulated

  4  contributions and the cash securities in the funds created

  5  under this plan are exempted from any state, county, or

  6  municipal tax and shall not be subject to execution or

  7  attachment or to any legal process whatsoever, shall be

  8  unassignable, and shall not be subject to court orders

  9  directed to equitable distribution of marital assets of any

10  member of the plan.  The foregoing prohibition shall not apply

11  to legal process for payments of alimony or child support if

12  ordered pursuant to chapter 61, Florida Statutes. Reserved.

13         Section 8.  Section 36 of chapter 99-474, Laws of

14  Florida, is amended to read:

15         Section 36.  Investing funds; custodian of securities,

16  contracts with professional money managers investment banks.--

17         (1)  The pension board shall have the power and

18  authority to invest and reinvest the assets of the General

19  Pension and Retirement Fund in:

20         (a)  Time or savings accounts of a national bank, a

21  state bank insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance

22  Corporation, or a savings and loan association insured by the

23  Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation.

24         (b)  Obligations of the United States or obligations

25  guaranteed as to principal and interest by the United States.

26         (c)  Obligations of municipal authority issued pursuant

27  to the laws of this state; however, for each of the 5 years

28  next preceding the date of investment, the income of such

29  authority available for fixed charges shall have been not less

30  than 1 1/2  times its average annual fixed-charges requirement

31  over the life of its obligations.

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  1         (d)  Bonds, stocks, or other evidences of indebtedness

  2  issued or guaranteed by a corporation organized under the laws

  3  of the United States, any state or organized territory of the

  4  United States, or the District of Columbia; however, the board

  5  shall not invest more than 5 percent of its assets in the

  6  common stock or capital stock of any one issuing company, nor

  7  shall the aggregate investment in any one issuing company

  8  exceed 5 percent of the outstanding capital stock of the

  9  company, nor shall the aggregate market value of the fund's

10  investments in common stocks exceed 75 percent of the assets

11  of the fund, nor shall the aggregate market value of the

12  fund's investments in all corporate securities exceed 80

13  percent of the assets of the fund.

14         (e)  Commingled bank and insurance company temporary

15  investment, stock, and bond funds without regard to the

16  quality restrictions for individual securities contained in

17  paragraph (d).

18         (f)  Commingled bank and insurance company real estate

19  funds up to the maximum of 15 percent of assets at market

20  value. Direct ownership and operation of real estate

21  properties are prohibited.

22         (g)  Guaranteed insurance contracts.

23         (h)  Foreign securities, provided that the aggregate

24  market value of such investments does not exceed 25 percent of

25  the assets of the fund.

26         (2)(a)  The pension board and the City of Pensacola are

27  hereby authorized to contract with one or more professional

28  money managers investment banks of national repute to act as

29  agents and corporate trustees of all or any portion of the

30  assets of the fund. Such professional money manager or

31  managers The investment bank or banks shall have full

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  1  investment powers with respect to said assets subject to the

  2  provisions of subsection (1) which limit the types of

  3  investments which may be made, and subject to such further

  4  restrictions as may be imposed by the board.

  5         (b)  The city and the board, for the purpose of

  6  contracting with one or more professional money manager or

  7  managers an investment bank or banks to invest all or any

  8  portion of the fund, shall enter into agreements between

  9  themselves providing for procedures for selecting, entering

10  into contracts with, and terminating contracts with any such

11  professional money manager or managers investment bank or

12  banks.

13         (3)  In order to accomplish the purpose outlined in

14  subsection (2), the pension board may direct the plan

15  administrator of the city to act as the board's agent in

16  handling the administrative details concerning contracting

17  with any professional money manager the investment bank;

18  however, the plan administrator or his or her designee shall

19  report the status of the pension funds to the pension board on

20  a quarterly basis or with greater frequency as requested by

21  the board, and the pension board shall review same and give

22  directions to the plan administrator with respect to the

23  continued contract status of the professional money manager or

24  managers investment bank.

25         Section 9.  This special act, along with all previously

26  existing special acts pertaining exclusively to this subject,

27  are converted to an ordinance of the City of Pensacola on the

28  effective date of this act. Such ordinance may only be

29  modified or repealed by the City of Pensacola.

30         Section 10.  All laws or parts of laws in conflict

31  herewith are hereby repealed.

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  1         Section 11.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

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