A. General Summary

S.F. 1439 (Johnson, Dean); H.F. 1482 (Murphy) are companion bills containing seven articles with provisions for various Minnesota State Retirement System (MSRS) plans, the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA), and the Teachers Retirement Association (TRA). The provisions made current refund policy retroactive in all plans included in the bills and increased the refund interest rate in the MSRS Judges Plan, enhanced surviving child and surviving spouse benefits, revised early retirement policy in the Elected State Officer plans and Judges Plan, and made various changes of an administrative nature.

Amendment LCPR01-165: Derived from S.F. 1439 (Johnson, Dean); H.F. 1482 (Murphy) contains provisions from the bill which are least controversial. The provisions included in LCPR01-165 are not benefit related and are largely administrative in nature. The amendment is drawn as a blind amendment, with provisions which could be added in any vehicle that the Commission deemed appropriate.

For purposes of discussion, the sections summarized below are numbered in the order in which they appear in the amendment.

Section 1 (page 1, line 2 to 21). Amends Section 3A.03, Subdivision 2, an MSRS Legislators Plan refund provision, by adding clarifying language indicating that only terminated members are eligible to apply for a refund.

Section 2 (page 1, line 20 to 24, page 2, lines 1 to 23). Amends Section 11A.18, Subdivision 7, an SBI Post Fund participation provision, by adding language intended to specify how the fair market value of each fund’s Post Fund participation is to be computed for financial reporting purposes.

Section 3 (page 2 line 24 to 36, page 3, lines 1 to 36, page 4, lines 1 to 26). Amends Section 352.01, Subdivision 2a, the MSRS General included employees provision, by clarifying a reference for state college or university activities program employees; and by eliminating a clause which provided MSRS General coverage for all service provided by individuals who work part-time in state employment and part-time as teachers in the MnSCU system, if they are certified for MSRS General coverage by MnSCU, or if more than 50 percent of their employment would otherwise be applicable for MSRS General plan coverage.

Section 4 (page 4, line 27 to 36, to page 8, line 29). Revises Section 352.01, Subdivision 2b, the MSRS General excluded employee provision, by removing elective state officers from the exclusion, and by adding an exclusion for MnSCU employees who are covered by other plans.

Section 5 (page 8, lines 30 to 36, page 9, lines 1 to 36). Revises Section 352.113, Subdivision 4, the MSRS General disability medical examination provision, by clarifying that psychological evidence may be submitted in support of a disability request, and by permitting disability examinations to be conducted by psychologists and chiropractors, if applicable.

Section 6 (page 10, lines 1 to 20). Revises Section 352. 113, Subdivision 6, the MSRS medical examination provision for disability continuation, to clarify that the required examination may be a psychological examination.

Section 7 (page 10, line 21 to 36, page 11, line 1). Amends Section 352.22, Subdivision 8, an MSRS minimal account provision by requiring that an account (and any related service credit) must be reestablished if the individual returns to public service and the prior total employee and employer contributions was at least $25, rather than $2.

Section 8 (page 11, lines 2 to 14). Revises Section 352B.101, the MSRS State Patrol Plan disability application provision, by clarifying that the psychological evidence may be submitted to support a disability request.

Section 9 (page 12 , lines 15 to 36, to page 13, line 11). Revises Section 354.05, Subdivision 2, the TRA definition of teacher, by clarifying that MnSCU teachers and various MnSCU administrators are covered by TRA if not covered by a first class city teacher plan, the higher education Individual Retirement Account Plan (IRAP), or the MSRS Unclassified Plan.

Section 10 (page 13, lines 12 to 27). Amends Section 354.52, Subdivision 4, a TRA employer unit reporting and remittance provision, by requiring interest on contributions remitted to TRA after 14 days of the payroll warrant, rather than after 7 days of the payroll warrant.

Section 7 (page 13, lines 28 to 31). EFFECTIVE DATE. All sections are effective on July 1, 2001.